Unexpected Happenings
by whitedwarf
Summary: HP(Fem)/Klaus: Forced through necessity to move to America, Rei Potter has only one goal: Get her magic fixed as soon as possible so she can go home. Unfortunately, Mystic Falls isn't as quiet and idyllic as she's been led to believe and when Original Hybrids begin crawling their way into her heart against all odds, she doesn't know what to think.
1. You Must

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

"Miss Potter you must-"

"Must?!" The petite seventeen year old glared blackly at the St Mungo's healer. "I _must _do nothing, Dr Bryant. There's, I ought to, I should and it might be better, but I can safely say that I've had quite enough of doing things simply because I must do them."

The middle aged wizard breathed in deeply and fiddled with one of the handles on his glasses nervously. "Miss Potter, please, I do not speak this way for my own amusement. Your health is precarious at best. The horcrux that was inside of you literally ripped your magical core to pieces when it was forcibly removed. It had seventeen years to burrow its way through every one of your established magical channels! That you're alive right now is, honestly...a miracle." He shrugged hopelessly.

The girl-who-lived turned away from the man to stare out her hospital window. There were crowds of people camped outside the hospital, the sheer number of well wishers ought to have filled Rei with warmth but all she could feel was this unyielding sense of panic and stress.

She rubbed her chest with a closed fist, "That's why I feel like this?" She whispered. "Like I've been torn in two, like I've lost something of myself that I'll never get back?" Rei turned to face the sympathetic wizard with a desperate air. "I feel like I'm drowning, Dr Bryant. Like I've lost whatever was keeping me afloat and I'm sinking. Do you know what that feels like?" She stepped forward. "The adrenaline won't stop racing through my body, it won't give me a moment's peace. It's like my entire body is wound like a coil on the precipice of something that never comes."

He gazed at her with sad grey eyes.

"I can't live like this," She whispered hoarsely, "It's only been three days and I feel like I'm going insane from feeling all of these conflicting emotions and instincts."

A soft knock at the door disturbed the tense silence in the room. Dr Bryant cleared his throat uncomfortably before striding to the door and poking his head outside.

"Your friends are wondering if you're up for a visit?" He asked gently.

She didn't need to ask who it was. They hadn't left the hospital floor for a single moment since she'd been admitted two days ago for tests.

She nodded silently.

Eyes on the crowd outside, Rei did nothing when a slim pair of arms suddenly wrapped tightly around her shoulders and squeezed.

"How is it today?" Hermione asked softly into her ear. "Is it any better?"

The hopeful tone from her female friend had Rei's emerald eyes fluttering closed in exhaustion. "...What do you want me to say, Mione?" She murmured.

She could literally feel the way Ron's worried frustration rose in reaction to her comment and Rei cringed in Hermione's arms.

"Ron!" The bushy haired witch reprimanded her boyfriend with a frantic undertone to her voice.

Ron was a very passionate person. He felt the full spectrum of emotions with every ounce of feeling he had, she'd always known that. But it wasn't until three days ago, when she'd woken up unable to stand being in the same house as her best friend that Rei appreciated exactly how much Ron's magic was affected by his emotions.

The horcrux's removal had destroyed her. Her magical core damaged beyond belief had gone through such a trauma that, as the healer had already said, she was truly lucky to still be alive. Her core was like one big raw nerve that felt everything, magnified a hundredfold and it felt it through pain.

They hadn't known what was wrong with her at first. Hadn't known what to do. Too lost in a migraine to even talk, Ginny had side-along apparated her to St Mungo's. All she remembered after that first feeling of displaced air is the pain. A burning, excruciating agony that had Rei Potter, the girl that suffered the Dark Lord's crucio in silence, screaming her throat raw as she sobbed against the hospital's tiled lobby.

"Sorry," Ron rubbed his forehead tiredly as he watched his best friend with practically palpable worry.

Rei drew in a deep breath forcing the pain away through sheer strength of mind. She turned to Dr Bryant. "Tell them; tell them what you told me. Tell them what my only option is." She ordered harshly.

Hermione and Ron immediately turned hopeful and expectant gazes on the healer.

He coughed once, caught in those intense gazes, before adopting a professional look. "As you know, Miss Potter can't be around any sort of magic without feeling debilitating pain. Obviously, the more magic the more pain she feels. When the crowds of people starting showing up outside and doing everyday magic Miss Potter felt the effects of that."

"We know all of this," Ron growled, frustrated.

Rei rubbed her temples tiredly.

Dr Bryant straightened, "Very well...if Miss Potter is to have any chance of a pain free life, of ever being able to cast magic again herself, of ever even being able to tolerate being around other witches and wizards she needs to go into isolation and re-teach her magic how to channel itself again."

Hermione frowned deeply, "Isolation...from magic you mean?"

"Yes," He nodded curtly.

"Brilliant!" Ron grinned widely. "Rei, did you hear that! There's a solution! You're going to be fine!"

"Ask him for how long." Rei deadpanned.

"What?"

She raised bloodshot eyes to glare at the healer, "Ask him how long I have to be isolated from all types of magic, everything except owls post that is, until I can be like a normal person again!"

Three pairs of expectant eyes landed on Dr Byrant.

"It depends on how long it takes her to re-train her magic," He pulled the collar of his white shirt away from his throat, betraying his anxiety. "She'll have to start small, no wand work..."

"Go on," Rei said darkly.

"She'll need to learn wandless magic before even starting to think of casting with a wand again," He said in a rush.

"But-"Hermione looked quickly between Rei and the healer, "But that could take her years!" She exclaimed.

"Nope, now way." Ron shook his head furiously. "There's no way that that is the only solution, I refuse to believe it."

"It is the only way," The healer now looked directly at Rei, his eyes solemn. "We've been under the misapprehension that Miss Potter's health has been relatively stable apart from when magic gets too close to her." He paused but she nodded her permission to tell them the results of her latest tests. "We've discovered that even the magic of St Mungo's wards and the latent magical core of wizards and witches are acting as poison to Miss Potter. She's not getting better; we knew that, what we didn't know was that even with precautions, she's still getting worse."

"What are you saying?" Hermione demanded hotly, denial in her eyes.

"Miss Potter needs to leave England, Europe. And she needs to leave as soon as possible, because her body won't last the week." He explained as gently as he could.

Rei drew in a shaky breath and looked out the window, "I'll go to America," She informed her distraught friends hollowly. "There's hardly a magical community to speak of their besides the small village in Boston. I'll go south, to a small town and work on my magic there."

"But-" Ron interrupted his face flushing hotly as his temper at the situation got the best of him.

Rei winced; the red head noticed immediately but couldn't get a hold on his anger and had to leave the room.

"I don't want you to go," Hermione whispered with teary eyes.

Rei choked on a laugh, "You think I do?" She tried to find the energy to smile but she couldn't. "I'm a wreak Mione. Feeling like this all the time is killing me and I hate it." She looked her best friend in the eye, "It wasn't supposed to be like this," She cried silent tears. "The hard part was supposed to be finding a way to beat him and then actually doing it! Not this! If we survived everything, everything that the war threw at us, we were meant to be happy...I wanted to be happy." She finally broke down and Hermione was quick to sweep her into her arms.

"I don't want to go," She cried softly into her friend's ear, her body shaking with the effort of trying to repress her sobs. "I don't want to go."

...

"And you have the authority to do this?" The Goblin asked her with a disbelieving smirk.

Hermione bristled. "Yes, my friend wasn't able to get here today but she gave me her key and a letter of authority to do whatever I saw fit with her vaults."

They didn't want Rei's plans to get out. There were still people out there, those who supported the other side, that were unhappy with how everything had turned out. Learning that Rei Potter couldn't do magic, couldn't be around magic and wouldn't be able to do either for the foreseeable future would be more than tempting.

Her friend's state right now petrified her, she hadn't slept in days and Ron was an absolute mess but this, this she could do for Rei.

"Fine, where is the property located?" The Goblin asked with a bored drawl.

Hermione glanced around the bank and cast a quick privacy ward that would ensure they weren't overheard. "Mystic Falls, Virginia."

...

_Hey! This is a Klaus/Harry Potter(Female) story. I've read some pretty awesome ones and had so many ideas that I simply had to write one myself._

_Hope you like the start! ;D_


	2. It was all so charming

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

...

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! _

_Oh, and a few people asked me how you pronounce **'Rei'**, it's **(Ray)**. _

_..._

Rei peered up at the large three storey house through narrowed eyes.

"Nice place," The Taxi driver whistled appreciatively, "You living here all alone though?" He gave her a doubtful glance and Rei raised her eyebrows at him silently. "Sorry," He apologised sheepishly suddenly realising how that might come off. "Um, that'll be fifty five dollars."

She reached into the pocket of her jeans and counted out the money before handing it over with a polite smile.

"Have a good day!" The man called through his half rolled down window as he performed a tight u-turn so that he could go back down the private drive.

She nodded with a fake smile and watched until she could no longer see the car.

"It would be going much nicer if the freaking weather could make up its damn mind." Rei grumbled crabbily.

Turning back around, she noticed that the late dusk light had coated everything in a light, dusky pink. The white pebbles that made up the small circular courtyard in front of the house looked more like faded rose right now. The entire property gave off an impenetrable sense of privacy; trees encircled the area while delicate looking daffodils, tulips and other varieties of spring flowers were growing in the small flower bed that was framing the house's right side.

Rei glared resentfully at the ordinary front door before shuffling forward, keys in hand.

The courtyard was clearly designed with a practical bent; she couldn't imagine that any car or truck wouldn't have amble space to swing back around so it could travel back down the drive.

Slotting the key into the lock Rei pushed the door open without hesitation and stepped inside.

It was beautiful. Hermione, in an effort to make this move as easy as possible had spent countless hours trying to find her best friend a home she could conceivably find some happiness in living in. It suited her perfectly.

A little out of town, to get to the property you pulled off the highway onto a well maintained white pebbled drive which went on for at least three kilometres, probably so you didn't get any of the traffic noise now that she thought of it. The drive was private and thin, clearly a one-way system, but it was lined with giant oak trees on either side interspersed with whatever native flora was in bloom that season.

Rei sighed loudly, no smile on her face as she took in the interior.

Bay windows that she knew continued upstairs flooded the house with sunlight; the windows enormous and strategically placed so that the sun would never glare through their panels at dawn and dusk but rather filter the light so that it created a far softer effect. It was charming.

Standing in the entrance, the front door wide open behind her Rei let the carry-on bag slide down her arm and connect loudly with the timber floorboards at her feet.

This structure had probably never witnessed a sad thing in all its time. That was the feel of the place. Well loved and well looked after.

"Urgh," Rei grimaced with disgust and spun sharply on her heel, scooping up the new car keys that were lying in a small bowl on the floor as she stalked back outside closing the door behind her with a loud bang.

…

Rick stared morosely into his empty glass. This day could not get any worse.

"Another one?" The bartender pointed to his glass in explanation.

"Yep," He pushed the glass forward before sitting back and letting his eyes drift over what was left of the Mystic Grill's dinner crowd.

He tipped his head in thanks as his glass was returned, this time full of bourbon.

"Your wife is a bitch," The snarky comment was impossible to ignore, especially when the person who made it dropped uninvited into the bar stool beside him a second later.

"Too true," Alaric muttered lowly raising his glass to take a long drink. "How's Elena?" He asked with concern. Meeting your birth mother for the first time would be a big deal for anyone but to have to meet the monster that she'd become? With no memories to measure it against? God…

Icy blue eyes threw him a loaded look, "How do think?"

"You'll look out for her?" He had no reason to feel a responsibility towards the female Gilbert, but knowing it and not feeling it were two very different things.

Damon looked at him for a long moment before he turned away to signal the barman, "You know I will," the vampire promised.

"Excuse me?" A lightly accented voice drifted over to them, "Is the kitchen still open? I was hoping to get some dinner and this seems to be the only restaurant in town."

Alaric turned around and blinked at the sight that greeted him. Matt, the only waiter on shift, was staring at whoever had spoken seemingly stuck for words. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed a small red tinge spread across the tops of the quarterback's ears and cast a speculative glance at the turned back of the woman who had spoken.

"Y-yeah, of course." Matt recovered quickly enough from whatever had stumped him and nodded, handing her a menu that was lying on the table he'd been wiping down moments before. "Take a seat and I'll come get your order." He smiled kindly.

Alaric leaned closer to Damon, "I thought that the kitchen closed ten minutes ago?"

"It did," Came the vampire's drawling reply.

"Thanks," When the woman finally turned around, jacket thrown over the small bag swinging at her side, Rick couldn't help the chuckle of laughter that rose in his chest.

The young woman was painfully petite with a mass of loose raven black curls that reached down to her mid-back. He suspected her accent was British from the little he'd heard of it but when he noticed the exceptionally pale shade of her skin he was almost certain that that was where she was from.

Ah, but he couldn't blame the guy. If he was still seventeen and had turned around to find a girl that looked like that smiling at him so hopefully he was certain he'd have answered that the kitchen was still open as well.

"She's a looker," Damon smirked suggestively; Alaric immediately tensed and shot him a warning look. "Don't think I've ever seen her in town before," the vampire mused.

He rolled his eyes, "Seeing as how the girl seemed surprised to realise that this was the only place you could eat out in Mystic Falls, I'd consider that a fair assumption."

"Do you know what you want?" He heard Matt ask.

"Is the vegetable soup here any good?"

"Yeah, well, I like it," Matt laughed with an uncomfortable sounding chuckle.

Rick let the amusement he was feeling bleed into his eyes when Matt's wandering gaze accidentally met his own.

"The soup it is then," When she looked up to hand the menu back to his student Rick got his first good look at her eyes and suddenly felt guilty for silently teasing Matt a moment ago.

He didn't think he'd ever seen such captivating eyes. Enormous and doe like in amongst delicate white features, their unique emerald colour only seemed to stand out against the stark contrast that her black hair provided.

"Nothing to dink?"

"Just tap water, please." She smiled.

Matt went to turn away before he suddenly paused his face twisting with indecision, he turned back around, "I'm Matt by the way," He introduced himself.

Wow, Alaric thought. That took some confidence.

"I'm Rei," The girl laughed as if it just occurred to her that she should have said this sooner. "Sorry about my manners. If you'll accept the excuse, I'm experiencing my first ever feeling of jet lag and am finding that the experience isn't one that suits me."

Matt grinned at the friendly reply, "No problem," He assured. "I'll just get your order."

"Don't you dare!" Alaric hissed at the elder Salvatore brother as the vampire slid off the bar stool, his blue eyes focused on the alone girl with a predator's gaze.

Damon rolled his eyes at him, "Would you relax? I'm just going to talk to her."

Rick eyed the innocent looking vampire suspiciously, "No compelling her," He demanded hotly. Isobel's visit today had used up all his patience with the blood sucking creatures; he wouldn't allow Damon to use that girl like a toy, not today.

"Fine," Damon raised both his hands, palms out. "Not that I'll need it," His black eyebrows lifted up and down suggestively and a confident grin spread across his lips as he turned around and walked the three steps that separated them from the girl.

"Is this seat taken?" The vampire didn't wait for a reply before sliding cleanly into the unoccupied seat opposite the petite beauty.

…

Rei looked at the handsome man smirking at her and let a slow smile pull up the left side of her mouth, "Would it stop you if I said no?" She asked.

"No," He grinned and leaned forward so that one elbow was resting on the tabletop, "I'm Damon Salvatore."

"Here you go, Rei." Matt interrupted, sliding the steaming bowl of soup and a small plate with two slices of toast into the space in front of her. "Did you want anything else?"

She noticed that his eyes slid to the guy who'd invited himself to sit with her when he said that, and realised that the blonde was concerned that she was feeling uncomfortable.

Rei sighed quietly, the ache in her bones was only now beginning to leave but she knew her body would need time to heal from the stress it had been put under. Dr Bryant had made that very clear.

Normally, just removing oneself from whatever was causing the problem, in this case magic, would result in an immediate halting of all physical symptoms. But horcruxs were far from the norm. Her body would need to recover, to heal itself from any internal evidence of the pain she'd been experiencing, and that would take time.

"No Matt, I'm fine, thank you." She tried to keep the exhaustion out of her eyes, picking up the spoon in a silent hint for him to leave.

He was a nice enough guy but right now, if pushed, Rei was almost certain that she might rip off someone's head.

She didn't even feel like eating but the healer from St Mungo's had told her that she would feel that way and she would have to force herself to eat despite not wanting to. She'd considered just ignoring his instructions but Ron had known her too well and made certain to ask the healer whether not eating would hinder her body's recovery. Surprise, surprise, it would. But it was enough to force her to get in her newly bought car and drive into town in order to get some sort of meal.

"So, are you just passing through?" Apparently, her unwanted company wasn't as good as her waiter at taking the hint that she wanted some peace and quiet.

Not bothering to hide her exhale of aggravation, Rei purposefully placed the spoon back down beside the bowl and looked up into icy blue eyes. "I just moved here actually," Her tone wasn't rude…yet. But it was short.

Mr tall, dark and handsome just smirked. "Really?"

She tilted her head to the side. The amused expression on his face told her that he hadn't missed her hardly subtle signs to go away; in fact, he seemed to find humour in her wish for his departure. "Yes, today, in fact." Rei informed crisply, not amused or…charmed, as she was sure Mr blue eyes believed he was being.

"Well I was born here, I'd be happy to show you around town."

Rei stared at him for a long moment, letting the suggestive comment hang there until even he was beginning to look slightly uncomfortable before turning sideways to face the man she'd noticed was watching them from the corner of his eye.

"Excuse me," She called sharply. The guy at the bar looked surprised to be called on; glancing at the now confused Damon sitting opposite her before looking at her hesitantly. "Do you know two know each other?" Rei asked, indicating between them with a single finger.

She already knew that they did. She'd noticed the chummy pair up at the bar when she'd walked into the establishment; cranky and feeling exasperated with this town's lack of food places. The war had left a lot of scars and Rei didn't think she'd ever stop taking inventory of the types of people that surrounded her, or the instinctive way she always searched out a room's exits.

It was too ingrained in her now.

"Um…yeah?" He said it like it was a question.

Rei smiled sweetly, "Do you think you might like to explain to…Damon, wasn't it?" She asked the redundant question with a swift glance at icy blue eyes, "The meaning of the term 'striking out'." She looked pointedly at the guy who obviously didn't have a clue what to do, ignoring the smothered laugh of the bartender.

She wasn't usually so mean but Merlin, she was not in the mood and he wouldn't take a hint.

"Confident little thing, aren't you?" Damon drawled with a taunting voice, but Rei was pleased to see that there was a look of slight bewilderment in his eyes this time.

Picking the spoon back up she used her other hand to dip one of the slices of toast into the soup. "It was nice to meet you Damon." Rei stated with finality, taking a bite of the bread.

Mr blue eyes surveyed her for a long moment a broad smirk slowly spreading across his lips, "Charmed."

She looked up to see ice coloured orbs, twinkling with humour, staring back at her as he got up.

Pushing the chair under the table he gave her one last suggestive wink before turning around, making his way to the exit. "See you later, Rick," Damon called over his shoulder.

Rei dipped her spoon back into the soup, fatigue beating at her; it was all she could do to keep her eyes open by this point.

"Sorry about him," The man at the bar apologised with a crinkled brow.

Rei blinked a couple of times, forcibly pulled her wandering thoughts back to the present as the words finally registered.

"Oh, there's no need." She waved a hand in the air as if to brush aside the comment. "Besides, I get the feeling that for him that was pretty tame." As soon as she swallowed a mouthful of the soup, Rei found herself having to force back the frown of distaste that desperately wanted to twist her mouth.

She hoped it was just her mood that was making this soup taste so bad, because if this was considered good in Mystic Falls, she was going to starve to death long before she got anywhere with her magic.

...

"…You'd be right…" Alaric chuckled.

Looking at her, he realised that the girl couldn't possibly be long out of high school, if she even had graduated that is. He bit his lip in thought. It might be more of a personal a question than was strictly allowed by social convention for a stranger to ask, but he'd seen from the way she'd dealt with Damon's advances. He doubted that the raven haired girl would answer anything unless she wanted to.

"Do you mind if ask you what age you are?" When emerald eyes suddenly flashed up to pierce him, Rick quickly explained himself. "I'm the history teacher at the local high school," He said quickly. "I was just wondering if I might be seeing you in my class, you don't look too far off in age to most of my senior students."

She smiled at him putting down her spoon and lifting the napkin resting on her lap to wipe her mouth. "I'm seventeen, but I finished school early back home. I'm taking more of a gap year…years." Rick noticed that she didn't look exactly excited by the prospect.

He got the feeling that to ask anything else right now might be pushing his luck.

He smiled at the obviously tired looking girl kindly. "Well, at the risk of sounding like Damon, but in no way intending it to come across in such a way," he prefaced himself, and saw that his awkward way with words had pulled a small smile of amusement from her. "Being a relative newcomer to this town myself, I'd be happy to show you around or answer any questions you might have."

Any girl that could shoot down Damon without screaming the words 'back the hell off!' at the top of her lungs was alright in his book. The girl obviously had spirit and…well, he'd seen that look of loneliness in his own eyes enough times since Isobel left him to recognise it, he wouldn't wish it on anyone.

She tilted her head to the side and fixed him with a surveying look. "I've heard so many horror stories about the small town American serial killers; funnily enough a lot of the stories started an awful lot like this one."

Rick choked on the liquor he'd just swallowed. Coughing and spluttering he still endeavoured to raise his hands in some effort to defend himself, horror flooding through him.

The girl's face immediately fell.

"Oh Merlin," She jumped up and rushed over to him, thumping him solidly on the back. "That was stupid of me, I'm so sorry, sometimes my mouth runs away with itself and I start thinking that everyone has my sense of humour." Finally able to breathe again she cringed at the disbelieving look he shot her. "Yeah," She drew the word out, "I was teasing you...sorry." She brushed the hair that had fallen over her shoulder back behind her ear harshly and shrugged with an adorably sheepish smile, "British humour?"

Rick couldn't help laughing, "Fine." He coughed once more. "British humour then." He accepted the excuse in the same good humour that it was meant in.

She stuck out a hand, an easy smile on her lips this time. "I'm sure you heard, but I'm Rei, Rei Potter." The difference between this smile and all the others he'd seen her wearing tonight was stark and Alaric realised with some surprise that it was because this was one genuine and real.

"Alaric Saltzman," He shook her hand. "I know, it's a mouthful-" He started the usual apologises he normally gave whenever he introduced himself but a scoff from the young woman in front of him cut him off.

"Oh please," Emerald eyes rolled, "You think you have a unique name, trust me, where I come from, you'd fit right in," She assured.

He didn't even know that he was grinning. "Well, most people call me Rick?" It was almost a question and Rei looked at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"Do _you_ prefer Rick?" She asked slowly, "I ask because I want to know if you honestly have a problem with me calling you Alaric, because _I _prefer that name." She said in a clearly put on snobby tone, the nose in the air was the thing that did it though, and he couldn't stop the laughter that escaped him a second later.

God, he hadn't laughed like that in a long time, he realised.

Rei smiled at him and again he couldn't help noticing the difference between this one and the one's she'd been using earlier. He hadn't even realised that they weren't genuine.

To be honest, the fact that he hadn't noticed irritated him. He prided himself on being a good judge of character and being able to accurately read people. Still, he was glad that the tired girl looked more at ease now.

"You can call me Alaric," He assured her.

"Rei, can I get you anything else?" Matt suddenly appeared behind them.

When he turned around to see his student looking between the unlikely pair with confused look, Alaric couldn't help rolling his eyes. Sometimes, he really did miss living in North Carolina.

In such a small community, where friendship groups were often established before one could even talk and everyone knew everybody else, to see a friendship sprout up between people of different ages had to be something of a novelty. It probably looked very strange to Matt that they were chatting together amicably.

"No thank-you, Matt." Rei walked over to her table and grabbed the jacket and bag slung over the back of the chair she'd been using. "The soup was quite enough."

Alaric raised his eyebrows when he noticed the soup was barely half gone. Apparently, Matt noticed the same thing.

"Didn't you like it?" He stepped forward with a small worried frown crinkling his forehead. "I can get you something else? I think I saw some sandwiches out back, do you like chicken?" He was already walking away to retrieve the food item when Rei called him back with an assurance that she was fine and the soup had been perfect.

Rick smothered his snort of laughter behind the glass tumbler he had raised to his lips. Matt was a good worker, he was always attentive to his customers and tried hard to be kind to everyone. But even so, the level of attention he was giving the beautiful petite seventeen year old wasn't exactly normal for him.

After giving her goodbyes to Matt and leaving what seemed to him a very generous tip, she turned back Rick. "I'm still in the process of moving into my house, but I think I might take you up on that tour of the town offer, Alaric."

"Sure, I'm a regular here so-"

"Just come by." She finished for him.

"Yep," He nodded.

"Alright, well I should get home. It was nice to meet you, Matt," And with that she was gone.

Alaric looked at the blonde quarterback that was still staring at the closed door she'd just disappeared through and rolled his eyes. "Honestly Matt, someone could mistake you for Tyler Lockwood right now. Don't you have a girlfriend?"

His student spun around to face him with an open mouth, his cheeks red and embarrassed. Alaric laughed under his breath and forced his tired body off the stool. "Have fun at the parade tomorrow, Matt."

As he walked out the door and the cold air hit him, Alaric realised for the first time that the depressive weight that had been pressing down on his shoulders since Isobel had said goodbye at the high school had lessened. His thoughts weren't so dark anymore.

He actually thought that he might have made a friend tonight. Shaking his head, Alaric smiled ruefully at how pleased he was with that notion. Rei Potter wasn't from Mystic Falls, she hadn't grown up with every single person within a fifty kilometre radius, and she wasn't a vampire.

She was normal.

"Thank God," Alaric sighed with relief, pushing his hands into his coat's pockets to ward off the chill.

…

_I've always liked Alaric and he becomes so integrated with the rest of the group and important to so many different people that I thought to have him and Rei build a strong friendship, at times a father/daughter love between them, that it would give Rei a good foothold in the group. :D_


	3. Lumos

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

Rei pushed the couch forwards, her muscles straining while her body gradually fell into a sharper and sharper angled position until finally the piece of furniture slid half-way across the floorboards and promptly stopped.

Standing up with a loud sigh, she raised a hand to brush back the hair that had escaped her hastily tied pony tail, fixing the stubborn couch with a determined expression in her eyes.

"Knock, Knock?" Came a hesitant call.

Her eyes snapped up to see Alaric's figure step tentatively inside.

"Alaric!" She exclaimed with surprise obvious in her tone.

His eyes finally landed on where she was standing, hands resting on her waist, amongst the copious boxes and many other things that littered her large living room. "The front door was open," He pointed a finger behind him in explanation.

Rei nodded, short of breath, "Yeah, no, of course." She stepped around one of the larger boxes, skirting a tower of books that had a lamp balancing on the top and jumped over two rolled up carpets. "You're early." She smiled up at the man when she finally came to a stop in front of him.

"Well I had thought to give you a hand," He looked around the room with some dismay. "You told me the other day that you'd almost finished unpacking."

Rei glanced around the room which looked like a bomb had gone off in it and just shrugged, "Tea?" She asked brightly.

The man looked stumped as she floated off down the hall towards the kitchen, "Sure,...I guess."

When Alaric first walked into the kitchen the first thing he noticed was the green. Floor to ceiling glass panels on the far side looked out into a large back garden which bumped right up against the woods behind it.

"You don't find the place too big for one person?" Alaric asked as he looked around the open plan kitchen.

Outfitted with light wood counters, the white French inspired cupboards and draws with modern yellow ceiling lights seemed to practically ooze fashion and money.

Rei looked up at him from over the kettle she was filling up at the tap, "Not yet. I like the space."

Alaric gave a disbelieving chuckle as he took a seat on one of the stools that surrounded the tall centre island.

"I just wanted to thank you again for showing me around the other day. I was a little surprised to see the place so empty though." She poured the boiling water carefully, "I didn't ask before because I didn't want to accidentally jinx it and suddenly find that we had to fight our way through crowds." She explained.

She'd had enough of those for a life time.

Alaric took the steaming cup with a grateful smile, "There was a memorial thing going on up at the Lockwood's property that day. Practically the whole town attended." He explained.

Rei leaned back against the counter, "Memorial?"

She watched as Alaric suddenly froze before glancing up at her from behind his tea cup, "Oh, um, there was a fire in town and the Mayor got trapped inside the building-I'm surprised that you didn't hear?" He said suddenly.

"Apart from your tour and a quick stop for groceries at the next town over I haven't left the house." She explained truthfully.

For some reason, on her third night here she'd been brought down by a killer headache. It was nothing like the ones that she'd been experiencing back home but it was debilitating enough that she'd had to stop unpacking for the night.

"Okay, well let me just grab my jacket and we can go," Rei said as soon as she noticed that he'd finished his tea.

Alaric looked at the jean shorts, tank top and flip slops she was wearing and hid a smile. He'd come to realise pretty quickly that Rei wasn't exactly what you would call high maintenance. Luckily for her, her looks were such that she could get away with it.

...

Bonnie frowned lightly as she pulled out another stuffed elephant from the trash bag at her feet.

"Bonnie!"

She looked up to see a flustered Elena walking briskly towards her.

"Hey," She greeted a little hesitantly.

Elena noticed apparently and rolled her eyes, "I'm me Bonnie, I promise."

"Sorry," She apologised, "But you have no idea how much Katherine looked like you, Elena."

Elena looked up from her clip board. "Is that why you've been in a funk for the last week and a half?" The brunette asked softly.

Bonnie gave her a startled look, "What are you talking about?" She said defensively.

Elena sighed quietly before fixing the nervous looking girl with a look, "You've been acting all distant for a while now. At first I thought it was just because we hadn't talked in a while." She waved away the apologetic look the African American girl sent her way. "Then the whole debacle with the invention only for Caroline to wind up in hospital…" Elena looked at her wide-eyed friend. "But I'm not blind Bonnie. Something's bothering you, and it isn't any of those things either."

Under her best friend's insistent gaze Bonnie finally caved. "I don't know what to tell you Elena," She shrugged. "For days now…" She trailed off, "It's going to sound stupid."

"It's me, Bonnie," Elena stated in a no-nonsense tone.

The dark skinned girl nodded slowly but her eyes betrayed her hesitation, "For days I've been feeling like, like," She struggled to find the words, "…I have to be careful or something." Bonnie shook her head feeling frustrated at how badly she was explaining herself. "Something inside of me is on edge." She stated with absolute seriousness.

Elena bit her lip, worrying the pink flesh there as she stared at her friend, not knowing what to say.

"Is the feeling…" Elena sighed and pushed a hand through her long straight hair, "Does it feel like a warning? Like danger is coming?" She had no idea how Bonnie's magic worked but she did know that her magic had given her premonitions of danger before.

Bonnie suddenly glanced up, her eyes wide with realisation. "That's it," she whispered, her lips curved up into a blinding smile as she finally put a word to the sensation that had been pulling at her gut for days now. "That's the feeling! I couldn't place it before but that's what it is, a warning."

Elena was much less excited, if anything, Bonnie's sudden certainly on the subject did nothing but heighten her own anxiety. A sudden idea lit up her eyes and Elena immediately leaned in closer not wanting to be overheard.

"Do you think it's because Katherine is here?" It was more of a statement than a question. Her vampire ancestor had already caused so much trouble in the short space of time she'd been in town that Elena couldn't imagine that it was anything else.

Bonnie's face instantly fell and she gave her best friend a helpless, almost comforting look. "Maybe," She admitted weakly.

Elena turned her head away and stared out at the crowd with a deep frown on her face, her worry almost tangible.

Bonnie sighed quietly. She felt terrible for bringing it up, but still, now that she had, she might as well tell her friend everything. At this point it couldn't make things much worse.

Reaching out, she gently grasped hold of the brunette's upper arm and turned her around so that they were facing each other. Elena looked down at her with a blink of surprise and Bonnie couldn't help feeling guilty.

"I know you're worried about Katherine," She said gently. "We're all worried about what she might do. But I've never felt this around any other vampire before and when I touched Katherine yesterday…"

She knew that none of them would want this warning to be about anything but Katherine. They already knew that the vampire was a threat; none would want to believe that there might be something else. Something they didn't know about.

"I don't think that it's about Katherine." She finally admitted.

Elena forced the unconvinced look desperately wished to make itself known with effort, knowing that Bonnie would take offence to her not trusting the witch on her word. But really, Bonnie was having a hard enough time trying to pin down exactly what her magic was trying to tell her; to dismiss the warning as harmless when all signs would seem to indicate that it wasn't? She might not be a witch but with Katherine in the picture she didn't believe that this was a coincidence.

"Why else would your magic try to warn you?" Elena argued.

"I don't know, Elena!" Bonnie exclaimed with frustration. "All I know is that the more I think about it, the surer I am that my magic is warning me that has something has changed in Mystic Falls."

"I don't understand," Elena shook her head with confusion. "That doesn't sound like anything good to me."

"It's like…" Bonnie glanced up at the sky. "Whatever has changed, whatever is different, it isn't necessarily a danger to us." She said slowly, her own understanding growing as she spoke.

Something was coming, something that Bonnie should not underestimate, something that had the potential to be dangerous to her if she provoked it.

Glancing down, she met Elena's sceptical gaze with worried confidence. "My magic is warning me to tread carefully," she said with absolute certainty.

...

"Your house is amazing," Alaric complimented genuinely as they drove down her long drive to get to the highway.

Rei shrugged disinterestedly, "It's a place to stay." Her tone was flat.

Wanting to change the subject, she had no wish to begin a conversation on the whys and hows that she'd moved to Mystic Falls, Rei leaned forward to fiddle with the radio. "Is this place really as good as you said it was?" She asked him, sitting back to enjoy the soft classical music station she'd managed to find.

"Yeah, it is." Alaric shot a glance at her from the corner of his eyes, "Though I must admit, having seen your house it doesn't seem to be lacking in furniture."

Rei laughed, "I love antiques," She assured him. "I don't even know exactly what I'm looking for but I'll know when I see it." Bright colours and screams of laughter caught her attention. "What's that?"

"The students organised a fete of sorts, I've been told that it's pretty good." Pulling up to the curb he pointed at their destination, "As you can see, it's popular."

Trails of people were wandering in and out of 'Sofie's antiques' and Rei could tell that the owner made a good living from the shop. The paint was new, small boxes of flowers lined the windows on both sides and a table was set out on the sidewalk with a jug of ice water and clean glasses.

"Looks good," She shut the car door behind her.

Alaric had pointed out the place on their tour of the town a few days ago, it had been closed at the time but from what she'd been able to see through the windows, it had some pieces that would work perfectly for what she wanted to do with the attic.

She'd decided, after seeing the way frosted glass had created sunlights in the roof that she far preferred the airy space to the basement as a place where she could work on her magic. Rei had concentrated all her efforts on getting her work room done first. She was currently sleeping on a bed with no sheets because she'd devoted her entire energy to the attic space.

She just needed to purchase a couple of things before it was ready.

"Rick!"

The two of them turned around to see a strawberry blonde woman with a beaming smile on her lips walking up to them briskly.

"Jenna," Alaric exhaled with surprise and Rei raised an eyebrow at the obvious awkwardness between them.

The smile on the strawberry blonde's face faltered when she took in Rei standing beside Alaric. A tiny frown wrinkled her forehead as she looked between them.

Both Jenna and Rei waited for the expected introduction but none came. Alaric just stood there with a close-lipped smile on his face, hands stuffed in his jean pockets while the silence began to drag out, quickly becoming uncomfortable.

Rei smiled at the woman charmingly and discreetly elbowed Alaric in the side.

The history teacher's eyes suddenly widened as he realised what the two women were waiting for. "Oh God, sorry." Jerking his hands free of his pockets he hastily pointed towards Jenna. "I'm sorry, err, Rei, this is Jenna Summers. Jenna, this is Rei Potter, she just moved here." He introduced clumsily.

"You did?" Jenna asked politely but Rei could still see the wariness in her eyes.

"Yeah," Rei chuckled and held out a hand, "Alaric was kind enough to show me around town the other day." She explained as the Jenna hesitantly shook her hand. "When I noticed the antique store I bullied him into driving me in his far bigger car." She joked, and watched with satisfaction as the hidden worry in the woman immediately melted away with her far more eloquent explanation.

"Oh, yeah," Jenna laughed, readjusting her handbag on her shoulder, "Sofie's is great."

Before anything else could be said, Rei stepped in."If you're not busy, would you like to join us?" She suggested.

Alaric instantly shot her a confused, panicked glance that she pretended not to see.

Jenna bit her lip, clearly wanting to take her up on her offer but not wanting to commit Alaric to anything he didn't want to do. "I wouldn't be intruding?" She asked.

"Of course not!" She smiled sunnily. "I'm going to be preoccupied with browsing for pieces anyway and I'm sure Alaric would welcome someone to talk to."

"Well, if you're sure?" Alaric asked Rei directly and she noticed the well hidden thank you in his gaze with a smile.

"Come on," She waved at them to follow as she walked inside the shop.

It was probably better that she do her shopping alone anyhow. Looking back behind her she noticed with a pleased quirk of her lips, that Alaric and Jenna were already deeply immersed in conversation.

Rei browsed down the aisles, weaving slowly around other shoppers, her emerald eyes sharp.

"Looking for anything in particular dear?"

From out of nowhere, a middle aged, eager looking shop assistant suddenly appeared in front of her, a hopeful, greedy expression plastered across her face.

Taking a moment to calm her racing pulse, Rei nodded, deciding not to hold the woman's pushiness against her. "Yes, actually."

…

"Has Elena told you how Caroline is doing?" Rick asked with concern.

"Yesterday," Jenna nodded, "The doctors say almost as good as new."

Alaric nodded; one of the Salvatore's must have given the blonde some of their blood in order to speed her recovery.

"So, your friend seems nice," Jenna commented lightly. "She seems young though, is she enrolling in the high school?"

She knew that she was being anything but subtle with her snooping for information but could you blame her? She looked down at her average jeans and top self-consciously, Rei Potter was very beautiful.

"No," Alaric shook his head, "She's on a gap year."

Jenna made an 'ah' face before continuing the interrogation. "How did you meet her?" She suddenly laughed, "Truthfully, I'm surprised that a girl that young wants to even be caught dead in an antiques store." She laughed.

"She lives alone actually," Alaric chuckled looking at Jenna with amusement. One of the things he liked most about the Gilbert's legal guardian was her terrible ability to lie. What you see is what you get.

"You're kidding!" Jenna looked at him with shock. "She just moved here by herself?! Where are her parents?" She looked into the store to see Rei speaking to Mrs Deacon in one of the aisles. "She can't be that much older than Elena." Jenna murmured to herself.

"All she told me was that they're not in the picture anymore." Alaric told her. "I certainly wasn't going to go asking her about what is probably a very touchy subject," He looked at her pointedly.

Something told him that the raven haired girl wouldn't take lightly to any inquires into her personal life.

"She didn't tell you?" Jenna asked with surprise.

Yes, she could imagine that if something had happened that it might indeed be hard to talk about. But, from experience she knew that it was inescapable to avoid those types of questions; especially when you were at an age where people expected your parents to still be looking after you.

"I got the distinct feeling that Rei's gone through some hard times recently." Alaric said slowly. The pair automatically turned away from their observation of their conservation's topic to look at each other. "I'm not going to demand that she volunteer personal information about herself just to assuage my own curiosity."

"You're right," Jenna said softly, looking at the floor before back up at Rick. "If she's here by herself it probably isn't by choice." She bit the inside of her cheek in thought. "Do you think I should invite her over? Introduce her to Elena and Jeremy?"

Alaric looked at her.

"You did say she just moved here. Living all alone and not going to school isn't going to make it easy for her to meet people her own age."

He nodded tentatively, conceding, "maybe you're right."

…

Damon watched Uncle Lockwood closely.

"This isn't the place for this," Stefan snapped, his voice low so that they wouldn't be overheard.

He turned slowly so that he could look his brother straight in the eye, "I don't care." He said obnoxiously.

"Well, perhaps you'll care about this." Stefan stepped purposefully in front of him blocking his view of the arm wrestling match. "Elena said that Bonnie's magic has been giving her warnings."

Damon frowned, "About what?"

Stefan shrugged, "She doesn't know."

Aggravation had him pushing Stefan out of the way so that he could see clearly. "Well that helps," Damon snarked.

"What do you expect to accomplish?" Stefan demanded with both eyebrows raised towards the Lockwood men.

"I don't know yet," Damon clapped him on the shoulder harder than strictly necessary. "But why don't you leave me to it?"

…

"What could you possibly want with five mannequins?!" Alaric threw up his hands.

Rei just smiled at the man and shut the trunk of his car. "Thank-you for the help today." She said sincerely.

Alaric shook his head but gave her a nod of acknowledgment as he slid into his car.

Holding the front door open with her foot, she watched until the last of the car's lights disappeared down the drive before walking inside.

The smile on her face fell with worrying speed.

Dismissing the kitchen and the food Rei knew she ought to eat, she took the stairs to the attic two at a time.

Without turning on the lights, she closed the door behind her softly, and carefully made her way towards the centre of the room as best she could in the surrounding darkness. She stopped.

With a deep breath, she let her neck fall back and her eyes close.

Standing there, hands hanging loosely at her sides, Rei concentrated on the blissful silence of her surroundings. On the clearness of her thoughts, and the diminishing ache in her joints.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

She opened her eyes.

Through large slanted skylights on both sides of the roof the stars shone down at her.

"Lumos," Rei whispered, her voice breaking.

…

…

A tiny ball of soft, weak, white light blinked into existence.

…

_Hey! Did you like it? Can't help thinking that Rei's not exactly going to look highly upon Bonnie's sometimes, 'higher than thou' attitude. Plus, Bonnie might be a Bennett but I really don't think that that's going to be able to stand up against a Potter ;D Ha, fun! ;D_


	4. Something Wasn't Right

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

Rei lurched forward with a sharp gasp of pain. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes tightly shut; she pressed her fisted hands into her knees as she forced her body to work through the pain. Her breaths were raspy and dry and her chest felt like it was on fire.

Without warning, Rei suddenly threw her head back and screamed at the attic roof.

Why was this so hard?!

She kicked out, hitting the urn that was in front of her, the porcelain shattering loudly under the aggressive force of her attack.

Rei pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes only to fling them away a second later with a lethal look.

This was useless. She knew that she was expecting far too much too soon, but that didn't stop the bitter disappointment she felt when she caught sight of the pencil she'd spent the last two hours trying to levitate with no success. It hadn't moved an inch!

She was being stupid. Expecting her magic to function as it had before the…accident. Her body hadn't even fully recovered from the pain that her week in St Mungo's had put her through. No, this wasn't going to work.

Ignoring the violent protest of her fatigued limbs, Rei pushed herself to her feet and, stumbling approached the bookcase.

Something had to change. She ran her fingers down the spines until she found the one she wanted. Flipping open the dusty cover she ran her eyes over the contents, soaking in the information with interested eyes.

Rei glanced up with a small triumphant smile, closing the book with a snap.

…

"You invited Damon!"

Alaric winced at the look in Jenna's eyes.

"He's a friend?" He said weakly. God, did Damon have to go around pissing everyone off?

"And I have no idea how that happened," Jenna was quick to remark. "Damon's an ass. Do you know that I came home the night of the fire to find-?"

"To find him kissing Elena," Alaric finished for her. "Yeah, you've told me...multiple times now." He mumbled.

She threw him a dirty look; obviously he hadn't been as quiet as he'd thought.

"I've already invited the guy, I can't rescind the invitation." He coaxed, trying to appeal to her sense of decorum if nothing else.

Damon would show up anyway, without or without an invite. The vampire was determined that today would be the day he outed Mason Lockwood as a werewolf.

Jenna rolled her eyes, not fooled in the least by his placating words. "Fine, but he better keep his hands to himself." She warned.

"He will," Alaric promised unconvincingly.

Jenna scoffed loudly before abruptly cutting off, her face adopting a speculative expression.

"You know," She began, a light in her eyes that for some reason Alaric felt very wary of. "Damon's hitting on Elena because he's single, lonely."

He raised his eyebrows at the woman disbelievingly.

"What? It might be that!" She defended.

"Yeah," Alaric drawled.

She waved her hand in the air impatiently, "That's not the point. The point is that we both know someone else who is lonely in town."

He frowned, completely lost. "Who?"

"Rei!"

He was out of his chair and half way across the room before she could blink. "No way!"

"Why not?"

He gave her an incredulous stare, "Jenna, I realise that you're worried about Elena, but I'm not going to allow you to throw Rei to the dogs so that you might sleep more soundly at night!"

She raised her hands in surrender, surprised by the emotion behind his reaction. They'd only known each other for less than a week, why was he being so protective of the black haired girl?

Alaric sighed, "Besides, she already shot Damon down the other night."

Jenna looked up from the salad she was preparing, intrigued. "Really?"

He frowned, "You're surprised?"

"Well, I might hate the guy but I'm not blind, Rick. It's rare for Damon not to get the girl that he wants. It sounds disgusting, I know, but it's a fact."

"You sound impressed," Alaric crossed his arms.

"Any girl that can shoot down Damon Salvatore without second guessing herself has my respect." Jenna grinned and gave him a mock cheer's before swallowing the last of her white wine.

…

Rei pushed open the door of the Grill and stepped inside.

It was busy. Very busy.

Her stomach grumbled at her loudly attracting the attention of a pair of old ladies who were now fixing her with disapproving frowns. Rolling her eyes, she gave them a small salute as she walked past.

"Way to ingratiate yourself with the locals," An amused voice drawled.

She stopped.

"If you're implying that you're on good terms with all of the female seniors in this town Salvatore," She turned to face the grinning man. "I believe you."

"Ooh, ouch." He pressed a hand against his chest dramatically. "Are you always this friendly?"

She looked around hoping to spot a spare table, "Only when I'm hungry." She sighed, there weren't any left.

"Is that an apology for the other night?" He asked cheekily.

Rei finally looked back at Damon and, without another word, invited herself to share the booth he was occupying. When he opened his mouth, no doubt to comment on her lack of manners, she spoke up.

"No, it's not. But I figure inviting myself to sit at your table would make us even. Especially considering you did the exact same thing to me the other night."

"Touché," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes.

"Rei!" She glanced up to see a smiling Matt looking down at her. "What are you doing here?"

"What do all people, pretty or otherwise, come into the Grill for Donovan?" Damon drawled.

Rei shot him a quelling look before looking up at a red Matt with a small smile. "Jenna Summers has told me that the Mystic Grill makes brilliant burgers, would you recommend one in particular?"

She kicked Damon under the table when he let out a loud snort.

"The Beef burgers good," Matt smiled, grateful that she was being so nice and not saying anything about his clumsiness, pretending she didn't notice.

"That sounds great," She nodded once, "I'll just have water with it."

"Don't like soft drink?"

Rei smiled, "Not exactly the stable beverage where I'm from." She very much doubted that they had pumpkin juice in the back.

"Alright then," Matt wrote the order on his small pad, "It shouldn't be more than ten minutes."

Not two seconds after Matt had left hearing range did Damon let out a whine of fake pain, "Did you have to kick me so hard?"

"I'm guessing you're not a fan of Matt's?" She asked, ignoring his pout.

"He's dull," Damon shrugged as if that explained it all.

Rei sat back, "And you're what? A hoot and a half?" The sarcasm in her tone was inescapable.

Damon leaned forward, his lips stretching into a lewd grin as his eyes ran down her sitting figure slowly. "I'm out of this world," He whispered sensually.

…

She burst out laughing. "On Merlin" Raising a shaking hand to her eyes, she'd wiped away the tears that had escaped them. "Does that actually work for you?"

Instead of becoming unbearably flustered and angry with her reaction as most men would, Damon looked at her with genuine interest in his eyes and answered her question.

"Almost always."

"Well then my compliments," Rei nodded at him with amusement.

"So, you know Elena's guardian?" Damon suddenly asked.

Rei frowned at him with confusion, "Who?"

Why did he actually feel surprised that someone in this town didn't know Elena? He shook his head, "Jenna," He explained.

"Alaric introduced us the other day," Rei confirmed.

Damon frowned, "Alaric?"

His surprised voice was interrupted when a shadow fell on them. Rei looked up to see a pretty brunette staring down at them with wariness.

"Damon?" There were copious meanings behind that one warning word.

Rei raised an eyebrow as she watched the supremely confident man blink up at the girl with innocence practically radiating from his eyes.

"Elena." He mimicked her tone perfectly.

Looking between the pair and the staring contest they were having, Rei was inordinately pleased when a bright looking Matt interrupted seconds later.

"Here you go, Rei." Grinning widely, he placed the food laden plate in front of her. "One beef burger."

…

Elena frowned deeply at the smile her ex boyfriend was giving the dark haired girl. "How's Caroline Matt?" She interrupted their small talk with a pointed look.

The quarterback instantly backed off and left with a small goodbye.

"Well you certainly know how to clear an area, I'll give you that." The unknown girl spoke up.

For the first time since she'd walked inside and seen Damon chatting up some girl in the booth, she looked at her.

Elena knew that she was attractive. Very attractive. She'd had the attention and compliments for far too long now to be ignorant of the fact. It wasn't often that she felt challenged by another girl's appearance. Even Caroline, as pretty as she was, always had to spend far more time than Elena did getting ready.

Long, loose black curls framed a blemish free, cream coloured face and piercing green eyes.

Elena coughed, for some reason feeling embarrassed.

"It's a long story." She explained, remembering Matt. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've met?" She shot Damon's lounging figure a warning look as she spoke. She didn't want to see yet another woman abused and made into his personal blood bag.

"I'm Rei," The girl smiled at her confidently. "Would you like to join us?"

"It's my table-" Damon piped up.

"Just ignore him," Rei interrupted him with a smirk, not removing her eyes from Elena's steadily warming brown.

Elena didn't know if it was charisma, the girl's obvious poise, or something else, but there was an energy that surrounded the young woman that somehow made her stand out from the crowd.

"I've actually got to get going, but thank you for the offer." The brunette apologised sincerely.

Damon suddenly clapped. "That's my cue." The elder Salvatore grabbed the cake box that was sitting beside him and stood up.

Elena scowled at up at the vampire when he stopped in front of her, an expectant look on his face. "What are you talking about?" She snapped, annoyance virtually steaming off of her.

Rei grabbed a chip, dabbed it into the tomato sauce, before throwing it into her mouth.

"Well, I assume you're headed to the barbecue at your house," He said it like it should have been obvious, only increasing the brunette's ire. "_I_ was invited." He stated importantly.

Elena purposefully turned back around towards Rei, who looked entirely focused on the enormous burger in her hands. "So, you just moved here?" She asked with interest.

"I thought we had to go," Damon complained loudly.

Elena bit her lip to stop the acidic retort on the tip of her tongue from making an appearance. "In a minute," She said tightly.

Looking back at Rei, she flushed when she noticed the black haired girl watching them with wide, shocked eyes.

"Damon's my boyfriend's older brother," She felt the inexplicable urge to somehow explain the strange dynamic that she knew existed between her and the blue eyed vampire.

Rei looked at her sharply, the shock in her eyes surprising Elena. It wasn't that strange, surely. Without reason or warning, her unique green orbs fluttered closed, and Elena, despite still being angry at him, couldn't help exchanging a bewildered look with Damon.

"Rei?" Elena called hesitantly.

The black haired girl shook her head and exhaled with a laugh, "Sorry, yeah, I just moved. Still getting used to the place." Seeming to shake off whatever had momentarily distracted her from the conversation; Rei looked up at the brunette. "I actually met your aunt the other day."

Elena's eyes suddenly lit up with recognition, "Of course! God, she was only telling me about you the other day, you're friends with Mr Saltzman, right?"

This was the girl that her aunt had wanted her to meet! She hadn't been very open to the idea when Jenna had brought it up, her life already felt impossible enough as it was. But when she'd learned how the girl was living all by herself, no parents in the picture, her own circumstances had ensured her sympathy at the very least.

Having now met her, Elena didn't think her aunt's request would be much of a task.

"Alaric?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, he's my history teacher so..."

The black haired girl laughed lightly, though the sound came across as a little strained. "You're lucky, he's nothing like the sorts of teachers I had."

Getting the feeling that she'd somehow upset Rei but not knowing how she possibly could have, Elena just nodded and pretended not to notice.

"Listen, I've got to run, but," She pushed her hair behind her ear, "There's this picnic/clean-up thing going on tomorrow. If you wanted to come, I could introduce you to a couple of my friends, I'm sure they'll love to meet someone that isn't from Mystic Falls." She said hopefully.

Rei bit her lip, her indecision obvious.

"It's supposed to be a fabulous day tomorrow," She coaxed gently.

Jenna had already told her how Rei wasn't going to be going to school, despite being seventeen she'd apparently already graduated. At least this way she could meet some people that were her own age. Rick was great, but Elena was almost certain that he wasn't qualified to converse on all things teenage girl.

"Come on Potter, don't be a loner." Damon teased from beside her.

Rei's back straightened and she levelled the vampire with an unreadable glance. Elena frowned faintly. Sure, she knew Damon could come across as an ass but as far as offensive comments that one was hardly deplorable.

"This, coming from the man that's attending a barbecue that the host's own niece doesn't want him at?" Rei drawled, her eyes narrowed on Damon's shrugging form.

Elena hid her smile of appreciation.

"We're not talking about me," Damon sung. "What's the matter, don't like manual labour princess?"

Seeing the way emerald eyes suddenly sharpened with those words, Elena quickly stepped in. "You don't have to stay for long."

Rei looked between the pair for a long minute, her gaze lingering on Damon.

If Elena hadn't seen the suspicious glint in those green eyes for herself, she'd have thought that the British girl was checking him out. The sheer number of long-lasting glances she'd shot Damon's way in the last five minutes of conversation was almost guaranteed to give anyone watching the impression that she was smitten with the vampire.

"…Sure," Rei nodded slowly.

Elena grinned, "Great! Why don't I pick you up?" She suggested. "This town has so many public parks no one would expect a non-local to find the location."

"Um, you know what?" Rei lifted a finger in the air in a motion to hold on and started rifling through the purse that was resting on the seat beside her. "It's a bit of a trip to find the place so why don't you just text me your address and I'll meet you at your house tomorrow morning?" The words themselves were a suggestion but Elena got the distinct impression that this point wasn't up for debate.

"Sure," Elena agreed easily, watching as the raven haired girl scribbled what she could only assume was her mobile number on a spare bit of paper. "Just come round at about ten." She took the outstretched sheet of paper with a small smile.

"Alright," Damon grinned sarcastically. "Now that that truly boring agenda has been set, we've," He pointed between them. "Got to go."

Worried that Damon's behaviour might have insulted the girl, Elena was pleasantly surprised when she looked across to see Rei staring at them with a blank expression on her face. If she was offended she certainly didn't look it.

"It was nice to meet you, Rei." She glared at Damon. "And thanks for the advice." Perhaps just ignoring him would be best.

"...You too Elena," Rei nodded once before going back to her food, somehow making the brunette feel like she'd just been dismissed.

The vampire made a face at Elena, childishly mocking Rei's cold expression as they turned to leave.

Without warning, Damon suddenly lost his footing and stumbled forward.

He was simply too close to the female waiter that had been in the process of skirting around him to even hope to avoid her. Elena felt her jaw drop as she watched him, Justine and the tray full of drinks she was carrying clatter loudly to the floor, attracting the whole restaurant's attention.

"I told you not to have that last drink, Damon." The soft reprimand seemed loud in the silence that naturally followed such unexpected, loud accidents.

Elena spun around, eyes wide, to see Rei smiling genially down at the glaring vampire.

The constant murmur of voices that characterised the Grill returned rapidly, everyone promptly going back to their own business and meals, but not before Damon was subjected to numerous disapproving glares and tittering comments about his alcohol consumption.

Rushing forward, Elena helped a flustered Justine pick up the empty glasses and beer bottles that had scattered across the floor.

"God, I feel like such an idiot," Justine was bright red in the face and Elena sent her a comforting look even though she was still processing the audaciousness of her new acquaintance.

"Somehow," Elena looked behind her to see Damon now leaning over an unintimidated looking Rei, his blue eyes narrowed with anger. "I don't think that you're to blame, Justine."

Her theory was proved right a second later.

"You tripped me."

Elena watched with worry as Damon leaned closer to the still comfortably eating Rei. God, the black haired girl looked so small with the blue eyed vampire towering over her like that!

Finishing her task as hastily as possible, Elena didn't even wait for the thank-you that Justine looked ready to throw her before spinning on her heel and hurriedly returning back towards the booth, hoping to stop Damon before he did anything stupid.

Rei shrugged. If she was uncomfortable Elena couldn't see it, her demeanour didn't look aggravated in the least by the close physical presence beside her.

"You should have been watching where you were going, Salvatore." Was the simple reply.

Ordinarily, Elena would be thoroughly impressed to see a girl so easily holding her own against a guy, but Damon was no ordinary guy. He didn't like being made to look a fool and he had a temper, one that was usually only quenched through fatal methods.

Just as the brunette skidded to a halt at Damon's side, the vampire leaned down even further, "You deliberately stuck your foot out in front of me."

Elena gulped at the low tone of his voice. God, she looked around the room frantically, where the hell was Stefan?!

…

Damon knew he was probably overreacting but he couldn't help it!

Katherine's reappearance had thrown his emotions off a cliff.

He had only been holding onto the _very last piece_ of his self control by the skin of his teeth!

When he thought about how she must have been laughing at him all these years, years that he had spent tirelessly trying to release her from a tomb she'd never been trapped in in the first place! Her admission, that it was always Stefan that she had loved, not him. After all that! God! He just, it was just all so humiliating! He was humiliated. And the sheer depth of his fury over the fact that, despite everything she had done, he was still heart-broken over her degrading words...

Not counting the fact that he was livid and frustrated by Elena's continuing denial that this thing between them was all in his imagination. That she currently hated him for killing her brother even though Jeremy had come back to life afterwards!

He was no in the mood to be mocked by some nobody who thought far too highly of herself.

When a nervous looking Elena pulled at his arm in a silent message to let it go, he shook her off roughly and leaned down even further so that his next words were heard by no one but their intended target.

"Apologise, now." He ordered, his fists clenched tightly as he fought the urge to rip her throat out right then and there. "Or I swear to God, you'll regret it." It was a promise, and perhaps she sensed that, because the girl he was hovering over abruptly stiffened, her back straightening as those whispered words floated over her.

Rei slowly pulled away, turning her neck so that she could look him straight in the eye.

Surprise flashed through him. He'd expected horror, fear, anger or apprehension. Damon hadn't expected this.

Her previously warm eyes were icy, hard. They looked at him with a fire so cold it even made him hesitate. "Back off, Salvatore." She murmured lowly, her voice so soft that only he could hear her warning.

Damon couldn't help it. A goading smirk pulled up one corner of his lips while he arched an eyebrow, openly mocking her command.

"Damon, come on," Elena's pleading voice didn't even register through the haze of anger that had finally overtaken him. He wasn't willing to walk away from this. It was one thing too many at the wrong time.

Damon froze; astonished, when a tiny, almost non-existent growl escaped the elfin girl he was standing over.

"You don't want to do this, Salvatore," She warned darkly, emerald eyes flashing with mounting hostility.

The presumptuous nature of her statement only succeeded in fanning the flames of the vampire's own vicious temper.

"Apologise," he hissed darkly.

"Damon!" Elena pulled sharply on his arm but her strength was nothing to him.

Gradually, her face blank, Rei leaned forward until her mouth was brushing against Damon's ear. "You're being foolish," She whispered.

He gritted his teeth together, the muscles in his neck straining against the pressure as he forced himself to ignore the steady beating of her pulse. That's when he realised. Even lost in a haze of ignited fury as he was, Damon was somehow able to comprehend that the way her heartbeat hadn't once quickened throughout this entire exchange wasn't right.

Her pulse should be racing by now. Fear and adrenaline should be forcing her heart rate to increase as her primal instincts reacted to the proximity of a predator she wasn't able to consciously recognise.

"I could make life very difficult for you, Mr Salvatore." She crooned into his ear.

Damon stiffened. Eyes that had been narrowed with blind fury abruptly widened and he jerked backwards.

Bright green eyes were staring at him with a knowing glint.

Damon stared at her with shock plain on his features. Did she just-?! Did she know?!

"Damon!" Elena ordered sharply, "We have to go!" She hadn't heard what Rei had whispered to him.

"What do you know?!" He demanded threateningly.

"Everything alright here?" Came a suspicious voice from behind them.

He looked up to see a stern looking Matt staring at his threatening figure with a dark frown.

"It nothing, Matt," Elena said quickly.

Worry seized him and he darted a look at first Elena and then down at the steady green gaze boring into him.

He didn't want this girl around Elena. Not until he figured out exactly what that last comment did and did not mean. There was no way he was allowing an unknown variable to ingratiate herself with the small group of people he'd come to care for in this town.

"You okay, Rei?" Matt asked the black haired girl directly. "Is he bothering you?"

He saw Elena frowning at Matt's uncharacteristic stubbornness; he normally took the female Gilbert on her word.

"No," Rei shook her head slowly, an unreadable expression on her face. "I believe that Elena and Damon were just leaving."

"Come on, Damon." Elena pleaded with him.

He clenched his jaw tightly. Every gut instinct he had was telling him not to let a possible threat go free but he couldn't do anything else at the moment.

Without warning, he wrapped an arm around Elena's waist and pulled her towards the exit. The brunette he was holding gasped at the unexpected action but Damon didn't slow. He wasn't interested in anything but getting her out of here as quickly as possible and explaining exactly what had just happened.

…

"How do you think she's doing?" Hermione asked softly.

Ron sighed loudly, jerking a hand through his red hair in agitation. "Probably driving herself insane," he grumbled moodily.

Hermione bit her lips, her eyes watering with concern. "Merlin! It's not right!" She suddenly exclaimed. "She should be here! With us!"

Her boyfriend quickly drew her into his arms.

"She'll be back as soon as she can, Mione." He whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head comfortingly. "You know Rei, she won't rest until she's back here."

"I don't want her to be sad," The bushy haired witch hiccupped. "I keep thinking that she's wasting away in that house, furious with the world…alone."

Ron scoffed, running a hand up and down her arm."Come on, Mione. Rei can make friends with anyone, you know that."

She nodded silently. She did know that. Rei Potter could be extraordinarily charming when she wanted to be. Sirius had insisted that her ability to charm people was inherited from her father. Wherever the dubious talent came from, Hermione had seen firsthand just how well her best friend could wield it to her advantage.

"I just don't want her to be lonely," The witch whispered. "She's scared of being alone, Ron... I don't want her to feel alone."

Ron stared into the roaring fire and squeezed his girlfriend closely to his chest. He swallowed thickly. "Me either."

...

Rei lent back against the car head rest, eyes closed, concentrating on breathing in and out, in and out.

Vampires. Of all the places in the world that Mione could pick…!

She hadn't been sure. Damon had been standing next to Elena, annoying her with childish complaints about having to leave when she'd caught sight of the strange ring on his finger.

There were rumours in her world about Wiccans that had the power to supply vampires with a piece of enchanted lapis lazuli which would allow them to walk in the sun. Most people didn't believe it. It would take a powerful Wiccan to accomplish such a feat but more importantly, why would they ever choose to do so?

She'd been stuck for words when she'd seen the ring.

Shock; followed by the sudden unwelcome knowledge of exactly how vulnerable she really was without her magic had made her clumsy, attracting both of their confusion.

She'd tried to regain her balance as quickly as she could, but it was extraordinarily difficult with both of them staring down at her.

The Ministry's of Europe had tried, over the centuries, to put in place strategies where they might control the blood craving creatures. Sometimes it worked, most of the time it didn't. Mostly it was scrambling to find ways to keep them as far away from the magical communities as possible. They'd developed specific wards to keep them out, others to keep them in, it was the only legalised blood magic that was still allowed.

Their strategy, for as long as the history books had recorded was one based on defence.

Because when you were dealing with a creature that could break your neck before you could bring your wand up in time to cast a shield, when that same creature would heal from deep lacerations and bone breaking curses in only minutes, the only thing the magical community could do was run and get behind protections that they couldn't pass.

Not that magic users were defenceless. If a witch of wizard knew of a vampire, knew that they were about to attack, they could plan. They could thicken the air so that their enhanced speed was impeded. Those with quick reflexes could banish a conjured piece of wood into their heart. Even the third year spell incendio was capable of conjuring a fire that was strong and hot enough to kill any vampire.

The problem was, rarely do predators announce their presence with enough warning for a witch or wizard to have the time in which to act. They were already dead.

All of this information had been running through her mind as she'd tried to focus on what Elena was saying, even as she desperately searched the brunette for a similar piece of jewellery. Rei was relieved when she didn't find any on the girl and once Elena's question had finally registered, she had opened her mouth with every intention of refusing her invitation.

But as she'd been looking into kind, brown eyes so much younger looking than her own haunted orbs, a terrible thought had occurred to her.

Did Elena know?

If Damon was a vampire, and Rei wasn't even sure if that was the case, did the girl know?

It was ridiculous! What was the chance that she'd run across one of the blood sucking husks in a small southern American town? The ring could easily be a coincidence! She, more than most, knew the danger of believing everything you read or heard. And she certainly wasn't about to put her entire faith in mere rumours of Wiccans that had made their way to the Wizarding World.

Still, no matter how much she didn't want to believe, no matter how absurd it sounded, she simply couldn't stand the thought of letting them leave without knowing for sure.

Her mind had swiftly formulated a strategy. She'd already seen evidence that Damon was a highly emotional individual and if he was a vampire that was a certainty. Mad-Eye had made it very clear when training her in the rare hours they could spare for such a luxury, that a vampire's heightened emotions was one of a magic-user's biggest advantages against the manic creatures.

It might have been rash. No, it had definitely been rash. But she'd only had seconds to think of something before Damon left with a young girl that might or might not be his next meal.

Rei breathed in and out, in and out, calming her heart.

Even if she could cast magic right now she wouldn't be able to stand living inside blood wards. Merlin, but she hated feeling so helpless! She was not a victim! The mere idea that she was helpless against a vampire, more so that any of her kind, filled her to the brim with barely restrained fury.

When everything else in her world was crumbling around her, when all was lost and destroyed and broken, she had still always had her magic. That comforting warmth in her chest; the tingling along her skin that was her magic signalling to its Mistress that it was at her command and ready to be used.

She needed to force Damon to fall into a highly emotional state and look for any signs that would betray him for what he was. So she'd stuck her foot in his path at the very last second and watched the chaos she wrought through sharp eyes.

_"A vampire will always go for the kill, Potter!" Mad Eye barked at her, his eyes serious. "You can't reason with one, you can't bargain and you can't persuade. If they want to kill you, they will."_

_"Than what can I do?" Rei asked with a deep frown. He spoke about them as if they were animals, completely controlled by their baser instincts._

_"There's only one thing you can do," He swept the legs out from under her and drove her small figure down with a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Make them angry. Make them furious. Goad them until they are blind with fury and are thinking only of the most painful way to rip you apart." _

_A conjured stake was hovering over her heart as she stared up at her instructor through wide eyes, her breaths loud in the silence of the room. _

_"Then you kill them, before they kill you." _

Damon had already been fuming, lying tangled up with the fallen waitress, but Rei had to be sure.

Her comment was mean, cruel and most importantly, it was heard by the entire room.

When Salvatore placed both hands on the table in front of her and leaned forward, his eyes like chips of ice, she had had to force her own formidable temper to quieten. Being the type of person she was, Rei had never responded well to threats of intimidation but this time she'd shut her mouth and watched the man closely. No matter how much it rankled at her.

Anyone else would have missed it.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Rei had told him to back off, hating the way he was towering over her like she was some weak willed ninny that was about to cower away from him.

That's when she'd seen it.

Vampires are predators. They enjoy the chase. The hunt. Her words had appealed to that base part of him, that part that enjoyed seeing fear in his intended prey.

_Her previously warm eyes were icy, hard. They looked at him with a fire so cold it even made him hesitate. _

_"Back off, Salvatore." She murmured lowly, her voice so soft that only he could hear her warning__._

A malicious, pleased smirk had taken over his face instantly. And at the last second, before he could control the reaction, ice blue orbs had darkened in colour while scarcely visible veins began to emerge around his eyes.

Most would have called it a trick of the light, the change gone before they could be certain of it.

But to Rei...their brief appearance had been all the proof she needed.

Vampires. In Mystic Falls.

…

_Yes! We're getting somewhere__,__ hey? ;D Did you enjoy it? _

_I'd love to hear your thoughts!_


	5. Way Forward

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

...

_Thank-you to everyone who reviewed, I've replied to all of you now but once again thanks for the feedback!_

...

"Damon! Damon, would you slow down!" Elena yelled, pulling her arm free of his tight grasp as they left the Grill. "God, what has gotten into you?!"

The vampire spun around, his face stony, "That girl in there is not what she seems! She threatened me, Elena!"

She stared up at him through disbelieving eyes, "You were the one that exploded in a fit of temper because she tripped you Damon! I'm not surprised that she threatened you. You were a total ass in there."

Elena sucked in a deep breath when the black haired Salvatore stepped close to her, invading her personal space.

"She knows something, Elena," He cautioned seriously. "She said that she could make life very difficult for me if she wanted to. If that wasn't a signed sealed and delivered confession to say she knows what I am, I don't know what is."

Was he serious?! The brunette crossed her arms and fixed him with an incredulous stare.

"Honestly? That's what this is? That's why you acted like a total nutcase in there!"

"She knows Elena!" He growled furiously, hating the fact that she was completely dismissing what he had to say.

"All because she said that she could make life very difficult for you?" She sighed tiredly. "Please Damon; I don't have time for this."

Elena blinked at the earnest blue eyes that were all of a sudden only inches from her own.

"I've been alive for over one hundred and sixty years, Elena. I know the difference between careless remarks and words that were intended as a warning."

For the first time since he'd started rambling Elena actually listened to what Damon was saying, studying the emotions in his eyes. What she discovered there stunned her, erasing her doubts. Frustrated blue orbs were staring at imploringly, but they were sincere. He was telling the truth.

"She knows?" Elena exhaled with alarm.

Damon straightened up, running a hand through his hair, "Yep." This time when he wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her to his car Elena didn't protest.

That tiny girl in there had knowingly looked a vampire straight in the eye and threatened him?!

A thought occurred to her as she clicked in the seat-belt and she immediately turned towards Damon. "Is she a vampire? Is that how she knew?" This girl had met her aunt!

Damon scoffed, "Hardly. She's either like your best friend judgy, or, and this is far more likely, she's just an ordinary human girl who's run across our kind before for one reason or another."

"You think she could be a witch?"

"Honestly? No. We were getting on just fine before you joined our little conversation. No witch chats casually with a vampire."

Elena let her head drop into her hands with a groan. They already had so many problems she wasn't sure she could handle another one.

"What are we going to do?" She murmured to herself.

Letting her hands fall into her lap Elena slid sideways so that her forehead rested against the cool glass of the car window.

She couldn't believe that she was even thinking this, but somehow, up against the possible life threatening plots of her vampire ancestor, Caroline's recent turning and the fact that the Lockwood's could possibly be honest to God werewolves, the fact that a normal teenage girl knew about Damon and would probably soon know about Stefan too didn't seem as pressing a crisis in the whole grand scheme of things. Then again, if Rei told anyone what she knew...

"We kill her." Damon declared coldly, an edge in his voice that told Elena he wasn't bluffing.

She whipped around, horror in her eyes. "You can't do that Damon!"

Damon let out a single bark of laughter, callously demonstrating exactly how little her impassioned decree had altered his decision.

"It's not happening Damon," Elena promised grimly.

"Like hell it isn't," He growled.

"She is a human being, Damon! She shouldn't have to die just because she doesn't happen to be one of billions of people that live their lives in ignorance of what goes bump in the night!" She yelled.

Damon glowered at her darkly, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. "She threatened me Elena! Do you know what will happen to Stefan, Barbie and I if word gets back to the council about what we really are?!"

"I'll talk to her!" Elena tried desperately.

"No!" He ordered so sharply that she actually jerked back in her seat. He breathed in deeply before turning to her, a softer look in his eyes than had been there only moments ago. "No Elena. We don't know her, we don't know her story."

"You said that she wasn't a vampire," She reminded him stubbornly.

"Humans can be dangerous too," He murmured lowly.

"I won't let you kill her Damon," Elena vowed solemnly.

…

Rei stood leaning against the kitchen counter a cold cup of tea in her hands, emerald eyes staring out her glass panelled doors at the large garden that dominated the landscape.

She'd been thinking on what she could do about her situation all night, well, since she'd hurriedly left the Grill for the safety of her home yesterday, at least. And didn't that memory hurt her pride. To think, she'd faced down trolls, werewolves, some of society's most sadistic minds but she was forced to seek the shelter of her new found home with the knowledge that vampires needed an invitation to get in.

"Pathetic," She breathed out, turning around to pour the practically untouched tea down the drain.

The soft chime of her front door bell echoed through the half unpacked house, her head snapping up in immediate attention.

Who could that possibly be? The only person that knew her address was Alaric but why would he…?

"Just a minute!" She called.

Carefully placing the cup in the sink, Rei left the kitchen and walked down the hallway, a quizzical frown pulling at the skin between her brows. She pulled open the heavy front door to see a face she was totally unfamiliar with. A young man, hands gripped loosely behind his back was standing on her front stone porch taking in her revealed figure through cautiously warm hazel eyes.

Rei darted a discrete look behind him to see if anyone she might recognise was there but no such luck, though she did notice that there was no car parked in the white pebbled circular courtyard. How had this guy gotten here?

Rei gripped the door frame more securely, "Can I help you with something?"

"Actually…I was hoping that I might be of some help to you," The man said, his eyebrows furrowed with sincerity. "I'm Stefan Salvatore, Elena's boyfriend." He introduced.

At his words Rei instantly glanced down to look for the same ring Damon was wearing yesterday only to once again realise that his hands were clasped behind him.

Stefan frowned faintly, catching her instinctive reaction. Distrustful emerald watched with some surprise as he willingly brought his hands forward to rest in front of him. "Do you recognise this?" He asked shrewdly.

Rei's eyes took in the lapis lazuli ring that was resting so innocently on his index finger with a guarded expression on her face.

Stefan let his hands fall to his sides, her silence on the subject self-explanatory. "There aren't too many people that know the secret of the day-light ring," He murmured pointedly.

She raised a single brow, "Is that what you call it?" Her tone was anything but warm.

"What do you call it?" Stefan asked with bewilderment. The only vampires he'd ever met with the protective jewellery were the one's from the tomb that Emily Bennet had provided enchanted pieces for, Katherine and Isobel. He'd never heard them called anything else.

Rei's mouth abruptly thinned, she had no intention of revealing that information. "Why are you here, Mr Salvatore?" She pressed impatiently.

The Wizarding world had labelled the rumoured lapis stones by the derogatory name of Wiccan jewellery, and the vampire had given away more than he knew by exposing his ignorance so readily.

She'd always felt that her world's distain for the less powerful magic users absurd. Wiccan's channelled the magic that was in nature. Each witch or warlock, as they had labelled themselves, was born with a fixed threshold of talent. An interesting concept to Rei considering that in her world a witch or wizard was born with a fixed amount of magic or power in their core. Still, to a world that wasn't governed by spirits of dead ancestors but by the laws of their country, Wiccan magic was seen as ridiculously obsolete. Personally, Rei had always been hesitant to dismiss the group so completely.

"Elena told me that you know what my brother and I are," He diplomatically pretended not to notice her cool tone. "You must have some questions."

Rei leant back and fixed him with a severe look, "Must I?" Never in a million years had she ever thought that she would willingly be conversing with a vampire.

"Please, we don't want any trouble. We're not here to harm anyone, we just want to live our lives," Stefan argued passionately.

"Elena knows what you are?" It was obvious that the girl did but Rei simply couldn't wrap her mind around it. A muggle in a romantic relationship with a vampire? How could that ever possibly work?!

"She does."

Rei noticed the hint of a smile that passed through his eyes with honest shock.

"You love her?" Her incredulity was plain to hear and Stefan couldn't help but wince. He could only imagine the types of experiences this girl had had with vampires in the past, he doubted any of them were good.

"I do. I was born in Mystic Falls and moved back here some months ago to start a life, that's all I want. I just want to be free to live my life with Elena…"He hesitated before continuing, buoyed by the almost considering look in her eyes. "…But I can't do that if I'm worried that you will tell people what I am."

Rei barked out a laugh, "Now I get it." She nodded. "You're here to ensure my silence," She stated mockingly.

"It would be a mutually beneficial arrangement," Stefan was quick to add. "You've just moved here, I'm sure you want to get on with your life," He shrugged. "I want to do the same."

"Let me get this straight," Rei held up a finger, "You want me, a human, to trust a vampire will take me at my word when I say I will keep your secret. You also expect me to believe that you won't harm anyone in this town, and you expect me to see this arrangement as one that is mutually beneficial?"

Stefan could see that she didn't believe him and really, when she put it like that, he couldn't blame her. Most vampires would simply wait for the first opportunity that she was vulnerable and eliminate her as a problem entirely.

"Please, I'm telling you the truth. I drink from animals," He saw the spark of interest in her eyes and hurried to continue. "I have for decades. And Elena told me that you and Alaric have become friends-"

"Alaric knows about you?!" Rei interrupted with wide eyes. Just how many humans in this town knew and were apparently completely okay with blood drinking creatures wandering their streets?!

"Yes, and he can vouch for what I'm saying."

For the first time since this conversation began Rei actually began to consider what the vampire was saying. Both Elena and Alaric were comfortable in this vampire's presence, surely…

"Your brother," She stated. "Does he also drink blood from animals?"

Stefan heaved a sigh wishing she hadn't asked that question. Elena had warned him that Damon had acted very menacingly around her yesterday yet what he saw in her large green eyes when she mentioned his brother wasn't fear, it was wariness. For the first time he gave Damon's words that something wasn't right with this girl some credence. She didn't come across as naive nor foolish, so what gave her so much confidence when faced with the threat of a supernatural predator?

"He drinks from blood bags." The petite girl immediately scoffed and Stefan raised his hands as if to halt her instant dismissal of their deal. "Yes, my brother thinks that you could be a problem to our safety here in Mystic Falls, but that is only because he doesn't trust that you won't out us."

They didn't trust each other. That was the problem, Stefan realised. If this was going to work someone was going to have to take a leap of faith and somehow, looking into her eyes Stefan got the impression that Rei Potter wasn't very good at compromising.

"If you tell me that you will keep our secret, I'll believe you." Stefan declared slowly, watching her face for anything that would betray what she was thinking. "I will guarantee that Damon will not harm you and we can both continue on with our lives as normal."

He was taking a risk here. There was no guarantee that she would keep her word. Even so, if this was ever going to work Stefan knew that one of them had to take a leap of faith. He just wished that it wasn't him.

Rei gazed at the vampire searchingly, her eyes distrustful. Good-sense cautioned her, advised her to say no. The problem was...Rei didn't want to.

She didn't want to move. She had things to do. Her magic was her focus and honestly moving now, having to arrange for the selling of the house and property through muggle banks and authorities would be a ridiculously time consuming hassle that she simply didn't have the patience for. As far-fetched as it seemed, if Stefan was telling the truth, if they really did deny their basic natures as predators and didn't harm humans, this might well be the excuse that she'd been looking for to stay.

"…Alright..." Rei stated guardedly, nodding slowly. "I won't say anything."

Stefan smiled in a relieved sort of way. "Thank-you," He stressed sincerely.

Rei raised her brows, "Don't thank me." She readjusted her grip on the door-frame and when Stefan frowned at her with slight confusion she looked at him straight in the eye so he would fully understand the seriousness of her next words. "Just don't stuff it up."

She swung the door shut in his face.

…

"How'd it go?" Elena asked Stefan as soon as she saw him.

He cast a reproachful look her way and she sighed remembering that they were supposed to be fighting. Still, if she worded this right, she might just be able to learn what happened when he went to talk to Rei this morning while simultaneously contributing to their 'fighting' relationship troubles.

"What? Now I don't deserve to know if I need to be careful around Rei?" Elena folded her arms and gave Stefan a pointed look when he frowned at her in bewilderment. "This isn't even about us Stefan; it concerns everybody."

From the corner of her eye she saw Caroline pause in her painting, a dainty frown of confusion on her face.

She hadn't had time to tell the blonde about Mystic Falls' newest resident yesterday, what between the strange way her best friend was acting, trying to control an overenthusiastic Damon and worrying about finding Stefan.

"She promised to not say anything about us to anyone…reluctantly," Stefan tacked on at the end.

Elena bit her lip with worry. "Can we trust her?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, but if we don't want to resort to compelling her to forget everything then we're going to have to take that chance."

She frowned, "Damon agreed to this?" Considering how furious he'd been the other day Elena was truly surprised that the elder Salvatore would ever consent to such a risky arrangement.

Stefan looked up from the timber he was measuring, "…Not yet."

"Stefan-!"

"Let me worry about Damon, Elena." He interrupted coldly.

Looking at him, it disturbed her that she wasn't certain whether those words were real or a part of their 'fake-fighting'.

…

Caroline frowned at the arguing couple, "Who are they talking about?" She asked out loud. The blonde didn't need to look behind her to know that Damon was hovering there, staring at the same scene she was.

"Rei Potter," He answered distractedly.

She turned around, "Who?"

"She's new in town," He waved away her question; still concentrated on the drama that was his brother and Elena. "She knows about vampires and somehow she also knows that I'm one."

Caroline's eyes widened fearfully and she immediately reached out to grab his arm, forcing his entire attention to her.

"What?" She hissed. "Why am I only finding out about this now?!" This affected her just as much as it did the Salvatore brothers and she wasn't even asked how she wanted to handle it?!

Damon jerked out of her restraining hold, "Easy Barbie, you don't matter. Why would we tell you?" He sneered.

Caroline bit her lip to stop herself from provoking him further with the flippant comment on the tip of her tongue. He was much older than her and much stronger. A fact Damon made sure to point out as often as possible.

"Well are you going to go along with Stefan's plan?" Caroline demanded.

The blue eyed vampire looked past her to lock eyes with his brother, the words he spoke next more for his benefit than the blonde in front of him. "Of course not. Stefan's plan is stupid and will get all of us killed." He smirked at the pure frustration that was now leaking from his brother's eyes. "But I will give him props for lulling Miss Potter into a false sense of security, makes her far easier to get at."

Caroline stared after him with an open mouth before spinning around to lock gazes with Stefan's worried hazel orbs.

…

Rei looked up at the impressive house with a sardonic curl to her lips. Over the top and ostentatious, why wasn't she surprised that this was the Mayor's house? Or, if the eager teenage boy in the bookstore was to be believed, interim mayor.

Walking up the steps she rang the doorbell before turning around to take in the generous grounds that surrounded the house. Was that a lake?

The sound of the latch clicking open behind her had Rei gracefully turning back around only to roll her eyes when she was greeted with the sight of a surprised looking young man blatantly checking her out.

"Do you mind?" She drawled, injecting just enough judgement into her voice to gain the male's immediate eye contact.

He smirked at her confidently, "Not at all."

Brilliant. "I'm looking for Mayor Lockwood?" She asked politely.

"Who's at the door?" The slurred female voice was accompanied moments later by its drunken source as a girl skidded around the corner, banging into the guy's side.

"Having a party?" The loud music and other voices from inside were answer enough but seriously, it was like eleven in the morning. For the first time the bulky young man looked kind of uncomfortable and Rei couldn't help laughing lightly. "Don't fret, I'm not going to rat you out."

How much of a hypocrite would that make her?

He grinned at her broadly, wrapping an arm around the waist of the unsteady girl at his side as he did so. "I'm Tyler Lockwood. Mum's at the cleanup with what is probably the entire town, she won't be back until that's done, sorry."

Rei groaned, of course, Elena had invited her to come to the event yesterday. She should have remembered, if she had she wouldn't have wasted all this time coming out here for nothing. Though to be fair, discovering vampires inhabited your chosen living area was a pretty good excuse for forgetfulness.

She ran a hand through her hair, "Do you know when she might be back?" Rei asked with a hopeful expression.

Tyler shrugged, clearly a bit bored by the topic of conversation, "Not until nightfall probably." The girl at his side leaned forward to give him a sloppy kiss on the cheek before with a twirl, she disappeared back inside. "You're welcome to stay and wait for her if you want?"

Rei looked at him with amusement written plainly across her face.

"Not very subtle, huh?" Tyler winced with a chuckle.

"Hey Man, what's holding you up?" Another male teenager slid into view, clapping a hand on Tyler's back in a show of male camaraderie. "Oh, sorry, didn't know you had company," The slightly dorky looking guy apologised as soon as he caught sight of her.

She smiled sweetly, "I'm Rei Potter, sorry for kidnapping your host."

"Jeremy Gilbert," He nodded at her, "And something tells me that Tyler isn't really that distressed with the fact." He laughed good-naturedly.

Gilbert. Elena's brother. She was suddenly looking at both young men with new eyes. Did Jeremy know about vampires too? Did they both know?

Rei cleared her throat. "Thanks for the offer Tyler but I'll have to pass. I'll catch your mum some other time." Waving at them, she walked briskly back down the steps and hopped in her car.

She really needed to talk to Alaric.

...

"All right," Stefan finally agreed, "But we do this? Take out Mason Lockwood? Then we do it my way where Rei Potter is concerned."

He could see the argument flare in his brothers eyes as he spoke but on this point he wouldn't be moved. Rei Potter wasn't a threat to them. If she became one there were other ways it could be dealt with without having another murder on his conscience.

"You want to wait until we have to deal with the fall out of her loose mouth before doing something?!" Damon protested heatedly.

"You want my help taking out Mason Lockwood then yeah, I want your word that you will let me handle the Rei Potter issue."

Damon's lips thinned his neck tensing as his temper rose.

"Fine, we'll do it your way." Damon sneered, his eyes dark. "But the moment, the _moment_, she spills the beans, I'm ending her. I don't care what you say."

"She won't," Stefan promised.

His brother scoffed clearly not believing the claim for a second, before abruptly turning on his heel and stalking into the trees.

"Chop chop, Stefan." Damon snapped. "We've got a dog to putdown."

…

Rei strolled unhurriedly through the woods, lost in her thoughts. She had needed to clear her mind, regain her balance. She hadn't expected that anything would interfere with her one goal to reconnect with her magic, hadn't wanted anything to interfere with it, but this vampire issue was certainly proving to do so.

"Urgh," She growled, stuffing her hands deeper into her coat's pockets.

Writing anyone back home about the situation was out of the question, what would she say? Unfortunately it looked like she'd moved to a crazy town that just so happened to be perfectly happy housing multiple day-walking variety vampires? Merlin, it would cause a ridiculous hoopla. Besides, they couldn't help from over there anyway, and...she didn't want to move.

That was the core of it, and for the first time since this morning her mind settled, finally accepting that the arrangement she and Stefan had brokered was the right thing for her at the moment.

The sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping up ahead had her eyes snapping up from where they had been scanning the leaf strewn dirt path she was moseying along. Rei stilled. The fact that she was a young woman alone in what she had quickly gathered was fairly isolated surroundings hitting her.

The sound of a male voice cursing pierced the silence.

Emerald eyes suddenly widened and she almost fell forward when the feeling of strong magic suddenly assaulted her senses, stabbing a dagger through her head. She clenched her teeth together to stop her cry of pain from escaping, now more than ever she was certain that she didn't want to be spotted by whoever this person was.

Rei quickly ducked down behind a bush.

Approaching footsteps grew louder, the thumping in her temples only growing more acute the closer to her hiding spot the magic came. She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds of her breaths.

Rei's eyes closed in relief when she heard the footsteps pass right by her without stopping, the magical presence fading the further away the man travelled from her position. Crouched down behind the bush, Rei brought the hands that had subconsciously begun to press against her temples down to rest on top of her knees...They were trembling. Rain softened undergrowth luckily ensured virtual silence when she abruptly fell back onto the ground. Her eyes fixated on the spasms that were making her small white hands shake uncontrollably. Because this was exactly what her life had become.

Something she couldn't control.

Rei sunk her teeth into her lip, the taste of iron on her tongue telling her that she'd cut through the soft flesh. She hardly registered the sensation. Tears trickled down her face as she continued to stare down at her trembling hands, unable to look away.

Merlin...This, _this_ is what she'd been reduced to?!

Magic was her life. It was in her blood. It was her heritage. Everything that was important to her was in the magical world and she couldn't get within a continent of it without falling to pieces!

Emerald eyes snapped up to glare at the tree standing opposite her. She wanted to know why such powerful magic was wandering around a backwater town such as Mystic Falls, and Good Godric, she'd find out.

She always did.

Rei pushed herself to her feet and focused on the feeling of magic, tracking its path, ignoring the steady increase in pain between her temples the closer she got. She was Rei Potter, she had gone through far worse pain in her life and she was sure that she had far more that she had yet to endure.

There, across a naturally formed clearing was the man she'd heard earlier. Creeping forward, she instantly froze when his silhouette unexpectedly stilled and whirled around, almost as if he'd heard her. Her eyes narrowed from her hidden position behind a tree. It wasn't possible. If the man was a vampire he'd have heard her heartbeat long ago and a normal muggle, even a wizard, wouldn't have heard her cautious approach, she was simply too far away.

She watched, absolutely still, as the tall man shook his head as though silently telling himself to stop imagining things, and slowly turned back to what looked like a well. Rei saw him pick something off the ground, she couldn't really make out what it was in the dark but a second later she didn't need to.

She swallowed dryly as the magical aura in the area suddenly increased as the man lifted the lid on what she now realised was a box. She caught a glint of white before he shut the lid. Rei sagged against the tree, shocked by the power she now knew originated from that object. The magic gave off a sense of containment, of a prison it couldn't escape and Rei couldn't help feeling intensely curious about what it was.

She took in everything that happened next with absolute patience as she stood beside the tree, her small figure indiscernible in the darkness.

The man lifted a metal grate that protected the well from falling debris and threw the small box into its depths before following it up with some sort of plant. She frowned deeply at that move, she'd come to learn that rarely are the things people do in these types of situations done without purpose, unfortunately, she had no idea the significance of the plant.

Rei watched him leave with curious eyes, waiting until she could no longer hear his footsteps and then a couple minutes more before gingerly emerging from her protected position.

Emerald eyes focused on the well. Whatever that man had hidden in there contained some very powerful magic. Removing a small knife from her back pocket she walked forward making sure to keep her steps quiet. Magic that didn't concern her in the least. Crouching down, she squinted in an effort to make out the padlock. She didn't care.

It didn't take long to pick.

Placing the lock next to the rock at her foot she pushed the metal grate forward, the iron scratching noisily against the stone rim it was resting on. Darting a look around her, Rei nevertheless continued pushing until a good half metre of open space was revealed.

She couldn't see a thing. It was way too dark. What little light was making it through the trees didn't seem to be breaching the depths of the well at all.

Sighing, Rei drummed her fingernails against the rim in indecision.

She'd only read about it this morning; a new method that she hoped would help her train her magic but she had no idea if it would work, let alone now. The theory was simple. All magical children performed wandless accidental magic at one point in their lives and they did so without the use of specific spells or the focusing instrument of a wand.

It had occurred to her that perhaps she'd been going about this the wrong way. Instead of trying to cast a lumos spell, why not do as she did as a small child? When she had sat huddled in the cupboard under the stairs desperately wanting a light, she hadn't needed a Latin incantation to achieve it; all she'd needed was focus and an absolute want for some specific action to occur. Like when she'd yearned with everything she was to be anywhere but flying down a suburban street in Surrey, trying desperately to stay in front of the enormous sized bullies chasing her, her second hand shoes barely touching the pavement she'd been running so fast. Rei hadn't focused on her destination, twisted in place and apparated. She'd simply wanted to be anywhere but there so badly that her pre-teen self had popped into existence atop the roof of her seven-story muggle school building.

But this would be the first time she ever tried to consciously direct and control the phenomenon of accidental magic.

Staring down into the pitch black well Rei gritted her teeth before her expression became stony. She'd never been a quitter in her life and she sure as hell wasn't going to start now.

Breathing in deeply, Rei closed her eyes and pictured that small white glow that she had glimpsed through the darkness in her mind's eye.

She focused on it.

Remembered the accompanying pain of its proximity, the way it had felt, what it had looked like, and started to focus on the desire to have it in her possession.

She wanted it to leave the water it was submerged in below her.

Rei wanted it to lift itself from its resting place in that small box. Wanted it to move up through the water towards her.

Up, up, up.

Towards her. She wanted it.

It was magic. It could be dangerous. It could be of use. All she knew was she wanted it, desired it, was desperate to have it in her possession and for that to happen it had to lift itself from the watery depths below. It had to climb through the air, closer to the surface. Towards her. Lift. It was feather-light. She wanted it and it would come to her. She demanded it.

With a surprised gasp, Rei's eyes shot open, the feel of something cold and wet, yet smooth, in the palm of her hand shocking her, so lost was she in her thoughts.

She became aware of the pain in her head almost immediately but she'd known it was coming. The knowledge allowed her to brace herself and she was able to push the pain away, ignore it through sheer strength of mind and furious resolve.

Triumph and stark relief flooded through her. It worked! She grinned, choking on a laugh as the full extent of what this meant occurred to her.

She had a way forward.

It might take a while but she knew what she had to do now. All she needed was time to practice, to reacquaint herself with her magic and her power. Despair she hadn't even consciously acknowledged yet, despair that had been sure she wouldn't find a way back to her world abruptly lifted from her shoulders. For the first time since she'd fallen unconscious after defeating Riddle, Rei breathed deep and clear.

She had her way forward.

Intensely curious about her prize, Rei lifted up what looked like a rock of some kind to her eye level, inspecting it. It was a stone. Oval in shape, its edges were smooth, its milky depths cloudy and pearlescent in colour.

Well, wasn't this interesting.

She grinned, her fingers curling securely around the stone before she stuffed it in her back pocket. Ignoring the pounding in her head with a skill that spoke of practice, Rei quickly pulled the grate back into place and replaced the padlock to where it had been before.

Turning on her heel, a hint of a smile still curling the corners of her lips Rei swiftly headed back in the direction of her house.

...

_What did you think? How do you think the Mystic Falls' crew is going to react to finding the box at the end of the well empty? ;D Ah, so excited! ;D_


	6. Lockers and Learning

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

...

_Thanks to everyone that reviewed! Check your emails, I've replied to everyone now ;D_

…

Elena shut the front door behind her with honest exhaustion. What a perfect end to the perfect day, she thought sarcastically.

"Did you have fun?"

She looked up to see a concerned Jenna eyeing her from her spot snuggled into Alaric's side, his arm folded around her while they watched television.

"Yeah," She nodded distractedly. Unwillingly, a flash of Stefan and Damon lying on the ground, Sheriff Forbes standing over them with a gun popped into her mind. "It was good."

Alaric smiled at her gently, "Hi Elena."

She nodded back, happy to see her aunt looking so content in the history teacher's arms.

"This man told me that even Damon made an appearance," Jenna laughed, hitting her boyfriend on the chest.

Elena's gaze involuntarily flicked towards Rick and she bit her lip nervously. She needed to talk to him about Rei.

Jenna sat up straighter, her brow wrinkling. "…Are you sure everything is okay, Elena?"

Realising that she was allowing too much of her emotions to show, Elena forced her lips into a wide grin, "Of course, Jenna. Just, you know boy problems." She shrugged with a hopeless sort of expression on her face.

Stefan and she had both agreed that their ruse would work far better if _everyone _believed that they were fighting. There was less chance that the truth would get back to Katherine that way.

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure you two will work it out," Jenna reassured her comfortingly, her eyes sympathetic. "I'm going to make tea," The strawberry blonde woman murmured to herself as she climbed from the couch. "Anyone want one?"

Elena shook her head mutely.

"I'll join you," Alaric smiled at Jenna and got up from the couch.

"Actually Rick," She called hastily, her tone just a little louder than it probably needed to be. "Um, I was hoping to ask you a question about the essay you set."

Jenna grinned happily, "Handy that he was here then, huh?" She winked at Elena who smiled back weakly. "Debate, discuss, broaden your minds. I'll get the tea." She sang over her shoulder as she left the room.

As soon as they were alone Alaric spoke up, "So what's this about?"

"I'm sorry about interrupting your night," She apologised. "I just had to speak to you alone."

"I figured, especially since I never set your class an essay." He pointed out.

Elena ran the fingers of her right hand through her hair, pushing the strands out of her eyes trying desperately to think of a way to tell Rick what he needed to know. "Damon didn't want me to tell you. Said that he'd take care of it and there was no need for you to know, but Stefan and I talked about it and we didn't like how he was thinking of handling everything." She said in a rush. "And we thought that since you already know her she'd probably feel a whole lot more comfortable talking about it with you. Jenna did say that you two had really hit it off and-"

"Elena!" Alaric halted her rambling, curiosity now shining in his eyes. "A little context would be nice."

She exhaled loudly, her shoulders drooping, "Rei Potter? She knows about vampires."

Rick's jaw dropped, his eyes widening with shock while Elena watched him closely.

"What?" He breathed, before his brown orbs abruptly narrowed. "How?!"

Elena shrugged. "We met her at the Grill yesterday, she seemed perfectly nice." She'd been a bit like a breath of fresh air if the brunette was being totally honest. "But then there was this whole thing with Damon, words were exchanged-"

"And you believe him?" Alaric interrupted heatedly. His voice was lowered for obvious reasons but Elena could see her own earlier disbelief now mirrored in his eyes.

"I thought that he was overreacting as well Rick but Damon was being serious…and we know now that he was right to suspect her." Elena stated seriously

He scrubbed a hand up and down his face, "You're sure?" The history teacher demanded.

Elena nodded, "I was worried about what Damon might do to her so I told Stefan, he went over to her house this morning to try and convince her not to say anything to anyone about what she knows. Stefan said that she agreed but that he doesn't know if we can trust her or not." She didn't want to say it outright, it left a bad taste in her mouth, but she wanted him to be prepared if it turned out that they had to take more extreme action where Rei was concerned.

"This is great," Alaric laughed without humour before abruptly freezing, his eyes shooting up to pierce Elena. "Wait…" He'd obviously understood her implication and if his expression meant anything, he wasn't exactly happy about it. "Elena, tell me that you told both of them that they can't go around compelling innocent humans!" He whispered harshly.

She blinked, confused by his reaction, "I admit that it's certainly not ideal, but what other choice do we have?" Elena frowned deeply. "It might sound callous, but the truth is we're all dealing with way too much already to take on the task of convincing someone that doesn't know us, and has absolutely no reason to trust us, to keep quiet about what she knows."

Rick stared imploringly at her, "Elena! You _know _that it would be wrong to let Damon compel her, not to mention that if she really does know about vampires she could very well know about vervain! Any failed attempt to wipe her memories will surely only antagonise her!"

Oh God...she hadn't even thought of that. Elena pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger as the full magnitude of Alaric's caution hit her, her stomach swooping down uncomfortably. If Rei did ingest vervain daily like she did, Damon could very well decide that she wasn't worth the trouble and just kill her.

"We were hoping that you could talk to her," Elena asked hopefully. "She already knows you; she's much more likely to believe what you have to say than Stefan."

Alaric immediately nodded, "Yeah, of course."

She stared at her guardian's boyfriend guardedly, "Soon?" Elena pressed. "I know that in her shoes I'd just want space but unfortunately we're not in a position to allow such a luxury."

Rick groaned softly, "Unbelievable," He murmured to himself, "I'll talk to her tomorrow...explain everything."

Elena instantly tensed, her face becoming anxious at the choice of words he'd used, "Everything?" She echoed softly.

Suddenly, she was being fixed with a stern reproachful look that made her feel like she was five years old again, being lectured on the merits of sharing with others.

"If we want Rei to keep her silence we have to be open with her, Elena."

She pressed a palm to her forehead, annoyed. "I'm not saying to lie to her Rick, but we don't know if we can trust her yet. I don't feel comfortable telling her everything." This was for everyone's safety, didn't he see that?

His determined expression cracked under the force of her pleading eyes, so much like his ex-wife's dark gaze. "…Fine," He exhaled loudly, defeated. "I'll use my judgement on how much to tell her when we speak tomorrow."

Elena gave him a tired smile, "Thank-you, Rick."

…

A sharp, shrill ringing suddenly invaded the absolute silence of the room, breaking her concentration. Before she could even attempt to readjust, the pencil that had been hovering just barely off the ground instantly fell, connecting with the floor.

Rei pushed herself to her feet and grabbed her ringing mobile from where she'd placed it on the window sill.

"What?" She snapped harshly down the line, glaring balefully at the space her pencil should still be levitating in.

"Um, Rei?" The surprised voice on the other end immediately had her full attention.

"Alaric," She stated. "Well, can't imagine what this is about," She drawled sarcastically, still a bit cranky that her first productive magic session had been thoroughly interrupted and ruined.

The man sighed loudly, "Can we meet?" He asked simply.

Knowing that she wouldn't be returning to her work anytime soon, Rei walked out of the attic and down modern, polished timber stairs, "Where?"

"Well, seeing as how most of the town is helping set up for the Masquerade Ball at the Lockwood estate, I was thinking that my classroom at the school would be a good place to talk."

Rei couldn't help but laugh, "Of course, because no teenager would ever _choose _to step onto school grounds unless they were required to be there."

"And no adult who has made it through the dreaded high school educative system voluntarily comes back here," Alaric added with a chuckle.

Rei smiled at the response, glad that things weren't too weird between them even with the giant elephant that neither of them were putting a name to. "Alright," She agreed, walking through her open bedroom door. "When were you thinking?"

"Well, I'm at the school now-"

"Perfect," Rei interrupted. Picking up one of her tan ankle boots she searched the room with her eyes trying to locate the other, glaring at the inanimate objects surrounding her like it was their fault she couldn't find her shoe. "I'll be over as soon as I can get there."

She may have decided to keep their secret but that didn't mean she didn't have questions, or that she wasn't going to find out if there was anything else about this town that she should know.

Rei ducked her head behind her freestanding, French style wardrobe hopefully, only for her lower lip to jut out in a pout when she didn't find what she was searching for. Turning around, phone still pressed to her ear, her eyes focused on the queen-sized bed suspiciously.

"Good, good, just, um, park wherever and come find me. I've got some marking to do so, yeah." The history cleared his throat uncomfortably but Rei didn't notice, too busy shoving the things cluttering her floor out of the way so she could more easily inspect the space underneath her bed.

"Great," She answered distractedly, one cheek pressed against the ground as she inspected the shadow just out of reach, trying to work out as best she could from a sideways position, if its shape resembled her missing boot in any way.

"It'll be just the two of us…if you were worried." Alaric hedged.

Rei froze. A black scowl so at odds with her elfin features slowly darkened her eyes. Abruptly straightening from where she'd been laying flat against her timber floors, Rei spoke clearly into the receiver. "I'm not worried Alaric," She stated strongly.

"Good!" He chirped cheerfully, his voice was just a little too high to be believable. In fact, she was almost certain that the man was inwardly cursing himself for his choice of words earlier. Rei rolled her eyes. "So I'll see you soon?" Alaric checked.

"Yep," Popping the 'p', and without waiting for an answer, she hung up.

Climbing to her feet Rei turned towards the box of shoes she'd yet to unpack, deciding to just wear a pair of white cane wedges instead.

Emerald eyes suddenly narrowed.

Without warning, she lunged forward and plucked up the familiar looking, tan ankle-boot from the top of the pile; it had been laying on all her other shoes this whole time!

"It is a wonder that we _ever_ managed to find Riddle's horcruxs," Rei muttered to herself as she jammed a foot into each shoe.

…

Bonnie's frown deepened the longer Elena kept speaking, telling her everything that she'd missed.

"What's the matter?" The brunette asked nervously.

"…So much has happened," she shrugged, trying to look like she was okay with being left out. "I mean, you're my best friend, I'm supposed to know things about you that no one else does. Instead..."

"I don't know what you want to hear and what you don't, Bonnie," Elena rubbed at her arm, betraying how uncomfortable the witch's words had made her.

"I lost Caroline, Elena. I didn't think I was losing you too," Her voice was one of mournful realisation and her best friend was quick to assure her otherwise.

"You didn't lose me, Bonnie." The brunette promised seriously.

She just looked at her hands not knowing what else there was to say, because it sure didn't feel like that to her.

They sat in silence for a while before Elena spoke up again, "There is one other thing that you don't know about."

Bonnie braced herself for the worse; it was the only type of news anyone she knew ever seemed to get anymore.

"A girl, our age, moved into town a few weeks ago and it turns out that she knows about vampires." Elena confided in her. "Stefan got her to agree not to tell anyone but Rick's speaking with her today…they're friends."

"Oh," Bonnie blinked. Was that all?

"I just thought that you should know, her name's Rei Potter."

…

Rei pulled up to the very normal looking school to her pick of car spaces. Not wasting any time, she pulled into the one closest to the open main doors and jumped out. Locking the car with the remote over her shoulder she walked briskly through the entrance.

"Lockers," She whistled, "That's new." She'd never had a locker. Hogwarts didn't really need them seeing as how students just went up to their dorms between classes to change around any books. Still, it was different.

Walking down the wide corridor it wasn't long before she spotted an open door leading to one of the classrooms and figured that she was in the right place.

Poking her heard around the corner she took in Alaric's hunched over figure behind the teacher's desk but didn't alert him to her presence. Despite everything, Rei couldn't help wanting to use the time before he became aware of her to search the classroom for any surprise guests. If they weren't alone there wasn't much she could really do about it, vampires were hunters and instinctively knew how to hide from their choice of prey.

Even so, despite knowing that without magic she could never really be sure of their privacy, she believed Alaric the type to keep his word.

"Hey," She called softly.

Alaric's head snapped up.

…

Bonnie bit her lip as she watched Damon carelessly shove Mason Lockwood's unconscious body into the car's trunk.

She didn't feel comfortable doing this. Her conscience was pulling at her, telling her that this was wrong, that this wasn't what preserving the balance was about. But the Salvatore's had said that he was working with Katherine, she'd seen them together herself, and Katherine wanted to hurt Elena…she sighed and quickly pulled open the door to the passenger side before leaping in.

"Alright there witchy?" Damon asked as he started the truck and peeled off down the drive.

Bonnie looked back up at the house as they drove past, wincing when she remembered how quickly Mason had run over and offered her help when he'd seen her struggling with the table.

"Fine," She snapped, angry that the blue eyed vampire had even put her in such a position.

"Don't tell me you're feeling guilty!" Damon scoffed. "He almost got Stefan and I killed yesterday-!"

"And what a crime that would have been," Bonnie interrupted with a sarcastic smile.

"So judgemental. I wonder how you would have felt if the wolf had also got your friend, Barbie, killed right alongside us." Damon looked at her with lifted brows, his expression innocently expectant, but she knew better. His eyes were laughing at her. Taking amusement in her conflicted emotions where Caroline was concerned.

"So has Elena forgiven you for killing her brother yet?" She asked, taking satisfaction in the way his superior expression immediately dropped, not having expected the low blow from her.

Damon returned his eyes to the road, "As a matter of fact, yes, she has."

Bonnie scoffed, turning away to look out the window, "Because seeing your only sibling murdered in front of you is such an easy thing to overlook."

When she heard the soft growl that Damon couldn't quite suppress, a small smile tugged at the right corner of her lips.

…

"Hey," Rick smiled at her a bit hesitantly, getting to his feet.

He wasn't really sure how he was meant to act around her. The way Elena had spoken he'd gotten the impression that the group was treating Rei as a bit of a toothless threat that they could afford to gamble with at the moment. Looking at her now, ripped jean shorts, high collar baby blue tee-shirt with her hair falling in natural large curls down her back, he couldn't bring himself to see her in the same light.

"So, this is your classroom, huh?" Rei asked, stepping into the room and gazing around curiously.

"Yep, my domain," He spread his arms theatrically.

She nodded before turning and locking gazes with him. "Before we start I'd like to know something."

He nodded silently.

"Can I trust them?"

Wow, Alaric let out a long, loud breath; what a question. "It's not exactly a yes or no answer." He really hoped she didn't think he was trying to dodge the subject either.

Rei jumped up on one of his students tables, folding her legs under her. "These things rarely are," She conceded.

Deciding to follow her example, he walked around the desk and lent back against it, crossing his arms and ankles.

"Okay, first things first, what do you know about vampires?" Alaric saw her wary look and quickly reassured her. "I'm only asking because knowing that will make it easier to explain everything to you. I myself only saw vampires as beasts without intelligence. I didn't know enough about them to know if they could think like us, act like us, if they had control or if they were slaves to their nature?"

Rei nodded slowly, accepting his reasons. "I know that vampires are predators, their prey humans. I know that the craving for blood is a deeply ingrained instinct in them, one that is always there, will always be there, no matter the vampire's personality."

He'd been expecting nervousness, paranoia, maybe even some hysterical fear and tears, not this. She was so calm.

"I also know that a small number of the species sometimes make attempts to curb those instincts. Like Stefan, they choose to feed on animals. I also know that just because it is an ever present desire to feed, that controlling that urge is a matter of willpower and a desire to do so."

Unbidden, her words provoked the memory of when Stefan had explained to him how Damon had kept Caroline as his personal toy for weeks. How he'd used her for blood and sex whenever he wanted, having complete control over when and how much he drank from her. He could have stopped at any time, that wasn't the issue. He simply hadn't wanted to.

"I know that they are dangerous. I know that they enjoy feeding. And I know that they can't be trusted."

Alaric could only stare at her serious face, speechless. All that she had just spoken was fact; he'd just never heard it said so clinically, so truthfully. There were no embellishes, no detours, just cold hard reality. She acknowledged that there were vampires that did not feed on human blood but she also prefaced it with the knowledge that this was against their basic natural instinct. But her last words concerned him.

"Some vampires can be trusted," Alaric corrected her gently.

He watched as she arched a single disbelieving eyebrow at him but didn't try to interrupt.

Alaric took a moment to gather his thoughts together; he wasn't used to anyone acting so seemingly composed about vampires. No matter what side you were on, those that condemned all vampires or those that believed that some were capable of decency, they were always passionate about their position.

"Everything you say is indeed very true. However, as you also said, there are some that do possess the necessary will and determination to curb their instincts. Stefan is one of those."

"Yet, what I didn't say was that the vast majority of those that attempt the animal diet fail." Rei stated without emotion.

Alaric nodded; this was going to be harder than he thought. If she was passionate about her beliefs, even if they were of the negative kind, he could sway her with examples of Stefan's valiant efforts at self control. Of times that Damon had willingly put himself in danger to save a human being. That strategy would not work on her. Rei accepted that there would be times that vampires acted out of the norm; she just didn't believe that it could ever be sustained. Therefore, in the long run, they couldn't be trusted.

"That's a very logical way of looking at things," He exhaled on a laugh.

"First time for everything, I suppose," She shrugged at him, a light of amusement in her eyes that he didn't understand.

…

Caroline couldn't help but smile at Bonnie as they walked towards the old Lockwood property.

"Stop staring Caroline, you're starting to freak me out," Her friend smiled in a way that said she wasn't really serious.

"Sorry," She couldn't stop smiling! "I'm just glad to see you…I've missed you." The blonde admitted softly.

Bonnie looked at her hesitantly and Caroline just knew that the witch didn't know what to do. Normally, the dark skinned girl would laugh and then pull her into a hug but with how things were now…

"No pressure, Bonnie," She was quick to reassure, not wanting to scare her away by pushing too hard. "Baby steps."

Bonnie smiled gratefully, "How's your mum doing?" Hazel-green eyes were concerned when she looked at Caroline and the blonde realised that this was the first person that had asked that question.

"Good, well, not good but not bad," She babbled, a sure sign that she was nervous. "She hates me." Caroline announced, trying to sound okay with it but knowing from the look of sympathy her friend shot her that she'd failed miserably.

"She'll come around, Caroline," Bonnie said softly. "You're her daughter, how could she not?"

The blonde snuck a glance at her friend, "…You haven't." She whispered.

Bonnie's shoulders immediately tensed and Caroline closed her eyes, knowing that she'd blown everything now.

"You-" Bonnie cut herself off, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You have to understand...Vampires are the reason Grams is dead, they're the reason Elena's in danger and they're the reason I've seen more dead bodies in the last six months than most people see in their lifetime."

Caroline listened to the cracking voice of her best friend, to what she was saying and felt the small glow of hope that had lit up when Bonnie said she could come with her to the well, dim. She was right. If Katherine hadn't changed her she was sure that she'd want nothing to do with any of the vampire stuff that was going on in Mystic Falls…she'd just hoped…

"Please," Bonnie looked at her so earnestly. "Just give me some time Caroline. I don't want to lose you but I need time, time to realise that you're still you."

And like a match had been struck, the flame was back. One of the benefits of knowing someone for so long is that you learn their quirks, their habits, their signs. Bonnie might not know it yet but Caroline did, her friend had already made her decision.

Caroline smiled widely, "Of course, Bonnie."

Just as the witch was opening her mouth to say something, Caroline's eyes snapped forward, her enhanced hearing picking up a scream. A familiar scream.

Elena.

…

"Why did you tell Stefan that you would keep what they are a secret?" Alaric asked her.

Rei tilted her head up to the ceiling and shrugged, "I wanted to stay here, and unless I was willing to keep quite I wasn't going to be able to do that."

He winced, when Elena had told him that she was going to keep silent he'd honestly felt the relief that he was sure everyone had, he hadn't even thought about it from her perspective.

"Thank-you. Even if you don't believe me, they are good people."

She nodded at him wordlessly, his comment clearly going in one ear and out the other. "Is it just the two of them?"

Alaric tensed, his first instinct to say yes, but reason returned to him quickly. He wanted to gain her trust and that wouldn't be accomplished by lying. "No," He admitted softly. "A student of mine was turned a fortnight ago, just after you arrived actually."

"I'm sorry," The unexpected apology took him by surprise. There were so many people already mourning for Caroline Forbes' fate, people that knew her far better than he did, that his own small feeling of sadness for the life that was now hers to live had seemed trivial and almost disrespectful in comparison.

He coughed, "Thanks...She's your age actually." He murmured.

Rei nodded, opening her mouth to speak before she seemed to think better of it and closed it.

"What it is?" He smirked, curious now. Alaric had realised quickly that Rei Potter, while not arrogant, was very comfortable in her own skin. She trusted her opinions and her own judgement implicitly. He doubted that there were many things in this world that could make her doubt herself.

Still hesitating, Alaric was about to try and coax it out of her when emerald orbs suddenly hardened, "I don't want to come off as heartless, but who turned her? Your student?"

The unconcealed suspicion in her eyes had him silently swearing. He should have expected this. What else was she supposed to think but that either Damon or Stefan was responsible? He'd already said that there were only three vampires in town. God, this is why he told Elena that Rei needed to be told everything! It was too difficult to separate what you wanted a person to know from what you didn't because events wouldn't make sense. In the long run, she'd only distrust everything they said to her.

"We've had some issues with the supernatural here," Alaric groaned, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"In Mystic Falls?" The incredulous question made him chuckle. He couldn't believe the amount of trouble this one town could attract either.

"Yeah." He grinned. "For instance, we think that we've found an honest to god werewolf." He couldn't help scoffing even as he spoke. The mere notion that they existed still baffled him.

When no similar exclamation of shock came from Rei he looked across to see her frowning at the wall.

"They're real, trust me." He said more seriously, realising that his method of delivery might have made it seem like he was joking.

"Oh, I know," Rei stated casually. "I'm just surprised that again, Mystic Falls is home to one."

His jaw dropped. "You knew werewolves existed?" He breathed.

"There aren't very many of them, practically extinct actually." Alaric could only gape at her as she spouted information that even Damon, a one hundred and sixty something year old vampire didn't know. "From what I've heard, born werewolves like to keep to themselves," She looked at him quizzically. "I'm surprised that you even knew what they were when you ran across them. I'm told that they're almost impossible to differentiate from humans unless you're a very old vampire or another werewolf yourself."

No words escaped his open mouth; all Alaric seemed capable of was staring at her, his eyes wide, completely overwhelmed.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

…

"Stefan! Stefan!" Elena screamed, tears clogging her throat as she hung over the edge of the well trying desperately to see through the darkness.

Spotting the chains, she ran to them, trying to lift the metal links but they were too heavy and with a sob she ran back to the well.

"Stefan!" She screamed, but he wasn't answering anymore.

"Elena!" She looked up just in time to see her blonde friend appear beside her, obviously running here with her enhanced speed. "I heard you screaming, are you alright?"

"Stefan's down there, he can't get out." She said shakily, running a hand through her hair.

Caroline immediately moved to jump over the edge and she panicked. Grabbing her arm, even though she knew that her strength would mean nothing to her, Elena spoke quickly, "You can't! There's vervain in the water."

The blonde's eyes grew wide and she darted a look down the well, her superior vision allowing her to easily see what Elena couldn't, Stefan's face totally submerged, which she knew from her own recent teachings wasn't good.

"Help me with the chains!" Elena demanded.

The two worked together, rapidly constructing a crude pulley system.

"What's going on?" Bonnie shouted as she ran towards the well. "Caroline, you just ran off."

Elena didn't pay them any attention; too busy getting herself into the pulley as fast as she could manage. When a warm pair of hands steadied her, she glanced up to see Bonnie giving her a worried, encouraging smile. She couldn't bring herself to return it, her mind entirely focused on reaching Stefan.

"Alright, let me down."

Caroline nodded with a seriousness that seemed foreign on the cheerleader.

Hands clutching the chains tightly, Elena's vision adjusted quickly to the darkness. As soon as feasibly possible, she threw herself off the pulley and dragged Stefan's unresponsive figure up, turning him over.

The sight that greeted her was horrible. Even knowing she didn't have time to waste, she couldn't help running a loving finger down his burnt and ruined face in distress. Then she was moving.

Tying him to the chains took far longer than it ought to. Her hands kept slipping, and when the flashlight fell into the water for the fifth time she let out a gasping sob, her frustration making her even clumsier. But she eventually managed it.

"Pull him up!" She shouted the second she was finished.

The chain immediately tensed and she watched with relief as Stefan was lifted from the vervain filled water. She knew that she should already be looking for the moonstone but she couldn't take her eyes off his floating figure, not until he was safe.

As soon as she saw Bonnie and Caroline pull his burnt body off the pulley her heart settled, and brown eyes immediately focused on the water around her. Readjusting the flashlight she hurriedly trailed her arms through the water while her other one searched the natural holes that had formed in the well's walls.

"Elena!" Her friends shouted from above. "Come on, we need to get you up!"

She shook her head, "No! The stone's down here!" She yelled. She wasn't coming up until she had it.

That's when she felt it. A line. Pulling frantically, she gasped with relief as a small wooden box revealed itself.

"I think I found it!" She yelled up to them, a grin on her face.

Even knowing that this had to be it, Elena bit the inside of her cheek before reaching a slow hand towards the lip of the beautifully carved box to open it. She wanted to see what her ancestor so desperately wanted. What Mason would hide from the woman he loved down a well filled with vervain.

What could be so important?

The soft hissing was her only warning.

Something dropped on her from above and Elena couldn't stop the scream that escaped her. Snakes. Throwing it from her desperately, she screamed, trying to get to the pulley. They were everywhere! Using the flashlight she threw another one away. Her friends were now shouting at her worriedly and she knew that if she didn't stop screaming they'd do something stupid like follow her down here.

Grabbing the box seconds before a black snake swam over it, she reached out for the chain. "Pull me up!" Elena tried to keep her voice steady so as not to frighten her friends but as soon as she was lifted from the water another snake appeared on her thigh. With a half muffled scream and a violent movement, uncaring of how hard it made Caroline's job, she shook the hissing water snake off of her.

She clutched the box protectively to her chest.

"Elena! Are you alright? Why did you scream?" Her two friends were indistinguishable from the other as they both helped her from the pulley. Elena ignored them.

Shoving the box into Bonnie's arms, she dropped to her knees and cradled Stefan's head, tears leaking down her cheeks at the sight of him. Grabbing a sharp stone beside his head she cut herself without hesitation and brought the blood to his lips, whispering words in his ear as his injured body instinctively drank from her.

"It's alright Stefan, I got the stone. You're going to be alright," She stroked his hair, her heart finally calming as the burns faded.

In the back of her mind she heard a gasp followed almost immediately by another, but she paid it no mind.

"You're alright. We've got the stone, everything's alright. You're alright."

…

The blank look on his face was really beginning to freak her out.

"You know about werewolves?!" Alaric suddenly burst out, his eyes now narrowed and she had no reason why.

Rei frowned, not appreciating the guarded way he was looking at her. "Of course I do. So do you." She reminded him with wave.

He shook his head, "No. I said we ran across a werewolf." His words were slow, deliberate. "We then spent _hours_ searching for _any_ type of information that could tell us what kind of creature we were dealing with before we finally hit upon the lycanthrope."

"Oh," Rei's mouth formed a small 'o' shape as she drew out the sound before she grinned, "That must have sucked."

She was surprised that neither Salvatore had come across werewolves before. Muggle werewolves, that is. She would have been beyond shocked if they had encountered a werewolf from her world.

Alaric glared at her distrustfully, "How do you know about them?"

Emerald eyes narrowed, "Just because the vampires in this town have no clue what's out there does not mean that you can treat me like I've just announced that I've been planning your murder ever since I got here."

Alaric jerked back as if struck.

"Perhaps the Salvatore's are simply not as worldly as they wish you and everyone else to believe." Rei snapped hotly before looking away from the history teacher to glower at the globe on the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry," She darted a look at Alaric and was pleased to see a genuinely contrite look in his eyes. "You're right; I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I was just surprised."

Rei nodded once.

From the corner of her eye she saw Alaric rub a hand across his forehead, obviously lost on what to say and she folded. Returning her gaze to him she gave him a tiny smile of forgiveness and he grinned at her.

"If you don't mind me asking..." He trailed off but she knew what he was asking anyway.

"The Lycanthrope are very rare, almost impossible to spot unless by another of their own kind. Very old vampires normally have enough experience to discern the signs that would give them away, but otherwise they're notoriously discrete." She couldn't help finding humour in the undivided attention Alaric was giving her, his eyes alight with the discovery of new information. He was a kind soul.

"Anything else?" He asked eagerly.

Muggle lycanthropes' weren't of much interest to the Wizarding world. They kept to themselves, didn't cause problems and, as she'd already told Alaric, were practically extinct. In her world, all it took was a single bite to spread the curse, whereas for muggles, it was genetic. Still, the results were almost the same, terrible pain every full moon with no control over the beast.

There was some speculation that the muggle transformation was even more painful than the magical. Having watched Remus go through the agony she found that hard to believe. Still, some reasoned that a person's magical core often attempted to dull the pain to whatever extent it was able. Muggles had no such relief, no matter how small.

"No," She watched him deflate with disappointment but it didn't sway her. The barrier between their societies was there for a reason, she wasn't going to flout it simply to set his mind more at ease. No matter how much she liked him. "Who knows about the vampires?" Rei asked quietly.

Alaric shifted but seemed to be shaking himself out to his incredulity, "Elena, obviously," He locked eyes with her. "You were serious about your promise to Stefan?"

Rei didn't let his abrupt questioning offend her, these were clearly people that he had come to care for and didn't want to see hurt. "I was, Alaric." She told him sincerely.

He obviously found something in her eyes that convinced him because he nodded at her with a small grin, all tension gone from his shoulders. "There's Elena and her brother, Jeremy Gilbert, the recently turned vampire I was telling you about, Caroline Forbes, um," He scratched his chin, his eyes flicking to hers as he paused, conflicted. "Bonnie Bennett and, myself."

Rei's eyebrows lifted, "No Jenna?"

"…No."

Rei nodded slowly, "Small circle." She said softly and Alaric watched her closely, trying to read how she was reacting to this information.

"I guess. Sometimes it feels far too large a secret to be trusted with so many people."

Rei laughed quietly, thinking of the DA and how over thirty teenagers had kept secret for over six months far less life-changing information. "People can surprise you."

…

They all stood in the Salvatore boarding house stewing in their thoughts while Damon paced back and forth, his face a mask of anger.

"Well, where is it?!" He snarled at the witch.

Stefan frowned at his brother disapprovingly. Blaming Bonnie wasn't going to help anyone.

"How should I know?" The African American girl said through gritted teeth.

"You're the one that said it was in a well!"

"It was! Mason clearly put it there!" She shouted right back at him.

Damon cursed, spinning on his heel he launched the fire poker he was still holding into the flames.

"I guess maybe you shouldn't have killed him," Stefan couldn't help but point out.

Stefan knew the words were a mistake as soon as he said them. His brother didn't like 'I told you so's' but honestly; he was having enough of a time trying to keep his own temper in check. Once again Damon's impulsive actions brought him and those he cared about nothing but grief.

"Shut up Stefan," Damon glared at him icily, his jaw clenched tightly. "As Bonnie so clearly said it is obvious that Mason put the stone down there…Katherine must have taken it." He growled.

Stefan looked down at his exhausted girlfriend and couldn't help but silently agree. She was always ahead of them. Ahead of everyone.

The sound of a phone ringing caught everyone's attention and before Stefan could stop him Damon had crossed the room and answered it.

_"Mason, where are you? You know I don't like to be kept waiting."_

Stefan shook his head at his brother, silently pleading with him not to do anything stupid, to not provoke her.

Damon just glared at him, "Wrong boy-toy."

There was a pause on the other end before Katherine once again spoke, her tone decidedly cooler, _"Damon. Where's Mason?"_

Stefan exchanged worried glances with Elena, the brunette had quickly figured out who must be on the other end just from their reactions.

"Here. Though I'm not too sure how much use he's going to be, his heart's across the room," Damon smirked, but Stefan could see by the fist that was still clenched at his side that his brother was not stable right now.

_"…You shouldn't have." _Katherine growled.

"Well I don't like it when people go around trying to kill me."

_"Where's the moonstone?" _

Damon and Stefan shared wide-eyed glances, not paying the suddenly alert Caroline any mind. She was serious. Stefan knew that tone and judging by the slow uncurling of Damon's fingers, so did he.

"Why don't you tell me?" Damon stalled not breaking eye contact with Stefan as they both concentrated wholly on Katherine's reply.

_"Don't try to play games with me Damon, I always win and you're far too inexperienced for this one anyhow." _Damon bristled at her patronising croon. _"Hand over the moonstone and no one gets hurt, it's that simple." _

Damon gave Stefan a questioning look and he nodded slowly, unsure but not having any other ideas at the moment.

"Alright," Damon agreed. "Where?"

Katherine was silent for several seconds before a throaty laugh echoed down the line, _"Please don't try to double-cross me Damon, I'd hate to kill you but I will if I have to." _His brother's jaw clenched, the hand that was around the phone barely managing not to crush it. _"Tomorrow, at the Masquerade Ball, it's been so long since I've been to one. Oh, and tell Stefan to save me a dance." _

The line went dead and the three vampires in the room stood there absolutely still while the two humans looked between them with increasing frustration.

"...Holy Crap," Damon exhaled loudly, "She doesn't have it!"

…

"Okay, let me try to find another way…"

Alaric looked up at the ceiling and grimaced. It didn't seem right to explain it to her in such a way, even if it was the truth, even if, ultimately, his own realisation of this had allowed him to finally accept that Stefan and Damon weren't going to go off the deep end without a very good reason.

"You seem to know a lot about a vampire's nature, their instinct to kill, to feed, in essence to act like the predators that they are." Alaric sighed heavily. "But you missed a very important, very dominant aspect of a vampire's psyche." He could see by the small frown on her face that she was honestly confused. That's good, he hadn't known until then if she really was unaware or just didn't believe that it was of any importance. "Their emotions are heightened; they feel everything far more intensely than a human."

"Yes…" Rei urged him to go on when he hesitated, unsure whether it was his place to tell a virtual stranger something so personal.

"Both Stefan and Damon are in love with Elena Gilbert. I believe you've met her," Alaric rushed out, feeling awkward to be discussing this. "They can be trusted for the simple reason that they don't want to hurt Elena and going on a killing spree won't help them keep or gain her affections."

Rei was now looking at him with an amused disbelief. "Alaric, come on, seriously?" She frowned at him, laughing.

He ran a hand through his hair, he knew it sounded ridiculous but he's seen countless times exactly how powerful Elena's presence or even how just the thought of her reaction could rein both vampires in from the edge.

"They may love her Alaric, I'm not disputing that, and they might not even wish to surrender to certain aspects of their nature because, as you said, it would not endear them to her." Rei sat forward on the desk, clasping her hands together in her lap. "But when the scent of blood is too strong, when they lose themselves in the hunt, in instinct, the rational thought of how the girl will react isn't going to deter them because they won't be thinking of anything except the blood."

Alaric smiled at her knowingly. This was the major point of her misunderstanding. She believed not without reason, that ultimately, when logical thinking deserts them, that nothing is more important to a vampire than blood. He'd thought so too. He'd truly believed that even if they never wanted to, at some point they wouldn't be able to stop or control themselves.

"You're wrong," Alaric stated. Her back straightened and for the first time he saw irritation replace the humour in her eyes. "I've seen it."

After a few long moments of searching his eyes for an untruth Rei unexpectedly leapt up off the desk and pointed a finger at him.

"Are you telling me that you have seen, with your own eyes, either Stefan or Damon, hell both! In a feeding frenzy or furious beyond belief, _stop_, because of Elena Gilbert?"

"Yes," he nodded.

She blinked. Frowning deeply. And then she found the only problem, the only hole in the truth.

"They have to want to stop though, don't they?" She realised slowly. When he said nothing Rei narrowed her eyes on him. "I can imagine that possibly they regained their senses before draining a person if she stepped in. But are you telling me that both of them, if they truly are in love with her, that if they held the life of a person that had sought to take her life, that had beaten her, if they had that opportunity to kill them, that they wouldn't if she asked them not to?"

Alaric licked his lips, "There are not many humans that would either." He stated lowly.

"I know." Rei nodded, eyes unchanged. "But the difference is that when a human in that position kills, they do it with full understanding even if they are furious and hurt. A vampire in that position is so dangerous because they become lost within those emotions that are, indeed, so heightened. They lose all contact with the part of them that is capable of looking past instinct and just react."

Alaric just stared at her.

"I thought so," She nodded.

"I don't know about you but if something of that kind did indeed happen and they did kill I think that I could forgive them," He snapped, annoyed that she was looking at the picture as if there existed no shades of grey.

"I probably would too," Alaric looked up at her with surprise. "But they still choose when to heed her and when not to, Alaric. And I'm not sure I can trust that the decision they make is one I can live with."

...

_So long! ;D I can't wait for the next chapter! Do you think Katherine is even going to believe that they don't have the moonstone? I wouldn't! ;D_


	7. Fabulous Novelty & Play Dates

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

Caroline took a deep drink from the crystal tumbler full of blood that Damon had given her while she watched the Salvatore brothers argue over who was going to kill Katherine.

"But why can't we just tell her that we don't have the moonstone!" She pleaded. "Then she'll have to go away."

Damon fixed her with a sneering look, "Seriously Barbie? Why on Earth would she believe us?"

Caroline glared. Did he always have to be so rude to her? "Because it's the truth! Tell her that the box was empty when we found it."

Stefan sunk down into the empty seat next to her, "That's not going to satisfy her, Caroline. She'll just assume that we're being difficult and hiding it. She'll begin going after the people we all care about in retaliation." His eyes begged her to understand, to accept this.

She glanced between the brother's immovable expressions hoping that one of them would say something to make this situation not seem quite so hopeless, but she was disappointed. Sighing dejectedly, Caroline looked down.

"We're going to need some help," Stefan spoke up.

"Already on it brother," Damon smirked and they all looked up at the doorway hearing approaching footsteps.

Alaric Saltzman lumbered into view, a large bag clutched in each hand. "I got your message. Is it just the four of us?" He asked, actually sounding pleased by that fact while his eyes looked around the room searchingly.

"I called Bonnie," Stefan told him, "If we want this to work we're going to need her magic."

"And I believe that baby Gilbert is on his way over here as we speak," Damon rolled his eyes. "I'm getting the sense that baby brother doesn't like feeling so useless, so…I hope you brought your best stuff."

Feeling sorry for the suddenly nervous looking teacher, Caroline leaned forward with a smile, "How's Jenna doing, Mr Saltzman?"

"I haven't seen her today actually. Damon's message said to come over straight away, and well," He rubbed his forehead with his thumbnail. "…I needed to come anyway."

A loud knock distracted everyone and Stefan was out of his chair and opening the front door almost instantly. Caroline beamed brightly at the sight of the person on the other side.

"Hey Rick, what's this one do?" She heard Damon ask behind her, but she didn't pay him any attention. A bewildered looking Bonnie was walking towards them holding a tattered book to her chest and she was far more focused on trying to catch her friend's notice with a hello wave.

The unexpected sound of something ejecting with a small hiss of air made her eyes widen and Caroline spun on her heel, newly acquired senses flaring, alert for any danger.

She wasn't sure whether to be relieved at what she found or disturbed. Alaric was wearing a sleeve of some sort on his arm but that wasn't what alarmed her. It was the pointed stake that he was now holding at Damon's chest in wordless explanation.

"Wow Mr Saltzman," She laughed uneasily, eyeing the weapon with none of the male appreciation that Damon currently was. "High school teacher by day, hunter of the species I've recently become a member of by night. Got to admit," Caroline gave him a joking scared look. "Don't think I'm going to be handing in my homework late ever again."

Alaric gave her a reassuring look but she couldn't help frowning at the kind man in concern when she noticed that the expression was only half hearted.

"You okay?" She stepped forward.

"Rick?" Damon waved a hand in front of the man's eyes when he didn't immediately answer.

Mr Saltzman jerked back, sending the male vampire an annoyed glare before awkwardly clearing his throat, "Actually, there is something…" When he glanced down at his wrist watch again, Caroline realised for the first time that he'd been checking it constantly since he'd arrived. "I need to tell you-"

"We're going to kill Katherine," Jeremy Gilbert's casual statement unintentionally interrupted his aunt's boyfriend, his appearance immediately claiming the room's entire interest while Alaric was promptly forgotten about in the wake of the important reminder as to why they were all here in the first place, that Jeremy's appearance had served.

Everyone gathered swiftly around the laid out weapons, an energy in the air that urged them to hurry, to plan.

"Okay," Stefan began, arms folded, a serious expression on his face. "We know that Katherine needs to be dealt with; we're all in agreement there, correct?"

Caroline nodded vigorously.

"And we still have no idea where the moonstone could be?" Bonnie questioned with a hopeful look.

"Does it even matter at this point? She went too far with what she did to Jenna. She has to be stopped." Jeremy stated passionately.

Stefan nodded, "Exactly-"

"Wait!"Alaric raised his hands.

Caroline looked at her history teacher in surprise. She'd have thought that he'd want to see Katherine punished more than anyone.

"Before it gets any later," Alaric looked down at his watch again, his demeanour agitated as he read the time. "Stefan," He fixed the younger Salvatore brother with a pointed look. "I did what you and Elena asked me to yesterday, I talked to Rei and I think that she will keep your secret."

The sudden change in topic was almost disorienting.

"Rick, is this really the best time?" Damon snapped shortly.

Before Alaric could do anything but glare, Damon had already turned back towards Stefan; effectively dismissing the subject, no matter that he'd phrased his sharp words as a question.

"No wait," Caroline raised a finger out in front of her, "Is this the girl you were telling me about yesterday Bonnie? The one Elena said knew about vampires?" She asked with blatant worry in her tone.

Alaric smiled at her reassuringly, "It's alright Caroline. In fact, when I told her how you'd only recently been turned she expressed her condolences."

Sky blue eyes immediately bugged out with frightened horror. "You told her about me?!" She screeched loudly.

"Alright, everyone quiet!" Damon raised his voice, stepping in with all his usual arrogance. "Rick's poor decision making abilities are something we'll have to discuss at another time because right now we have to come up with a plan to kill Katherine, okay?" His tone brooked no argument and everyone eventually nodded in reluctant agreement.

"That might be a little difficult," Alaric's demeanour was decidedly cool, his arms folded as he stared challengingly into ice blue eyes. "…Especially seeing as how I invited her over here as soon as I got your message, Damon."

Caroline sucked in a worried breath when Damon suddenly whipped around, his eyes slits. "What did you just say?!"

Alaric wasn't cowered in the least, his own eyes now glaring at his drinking buddy with practically tangible exasperation.

"Rei needs to get to know us. To be given the chance to come to think of you as something beyond her intellectual definition of vampires. I didn't think that Bonnie or Jeremy would be coming today, but honestly? It's probably better this way. She can see that humans, witches, hunters," He pointed at himself. "All voluntarily interact with you on a daily basis."

Damon looked fit to explode by the time he'd finished his explanation so Stefan, being the cooler headed of the two, swiftly stepped in. "I see your point Alaric, but do you really think asking her to join us as we plot Katherine's demise is such a good idea? I mean, we want to convince her that we can live together peacefully, this doesn't exactly help establish that image."

Alaric was already shaking his head before Stefan had finished speaking though. "You're never going to be able to convince Rei that you're harmless vampires Stefan." He stated with such conviction that Caroline could see Stefan was taken-aback.

"I thought you said she agreed to keep quiet though?" Bonnie frowned, bewildered by the seeming contradiction.

"She is," Alaric hastily assured them all. "But she knows enough about vampires to know that you're never going to be harmless. I'd say you have as much chance convincing Bonnie of that fact as you do Rei." He explained.

Understanding was slowly dawning on those in the room and funnily enough it was Jeremy that finally spoke up and convinced them, however reluctantly.

"Alaric's right. I mean, if I didn't have Anna there to balance out all the damning stories I read about in my ancestor's journal, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn that some vampires, even if they do drink human blood, are different. That they aren't all bad." His tone was considering and filled with acceptance of his teacher's decision.

Caroline swallowed hard, her mind flashing back to the night of the carnival and that innocent man she'd drained of blood. She couldn't help but silently wonder…was this reality that Alaric so wished to show Rei Potter even real?

The sound of a hardly ever used door bell suddenly chimed through the boarding house.

…

She couldn't believe she was doing this. Shutting her car door, Rei looked up at the large Salvatore property and couldn't help grimacing. Definitely not her taste, for one there was too much…there was just too much.

Alaric's message had taken her by surprise but after thinking about it, she'd realised that this was perfect. Rei needed to establish if this 'agreement' was legitimate and how better to ascertain that than by meeting all of the parties involved and assessing them for herself?

Readjusting the strap of her bag, she leaned forward and pressed the doorbell.

No answer.

She tapped her foot against the gravel, waiting.

Seriously, weren't there vampires with scary speed inside? How long did it take to open the front door?!

Just when she was about to take out her phone and call Alaric the heavy wooden door in front of her swung inward, a young blonde girl with a hesitant smile greeting her.

"Hi," The girl chirped awkwardly.

She raised an eyebrow, "Hi?" When the blonde did nothing but continue to stare at her mutely, Rei's confusion began mounting. "Don't tell me I have the wrong place. Alaric said it was the eyesore at the end of the road…_this_ is the eyesore at the end of the road, unless there's a second one?"

The girl suddenly let out a laugh before immediately clapping a hand in front of her mouth, her eyes wide.

Emerald green orbs focused on the ring instantly. Far more modern than the ones that the Salvatore's wore, the blue stone at its centre was, nevertheless, still distinctive.

"You must be Caroline," Rei gave her a small smile, suddenly very much aware that she was in the presence of a virtual newborn.

Sky blue eyes bugged out, "How did you know that?" Her voice was full of trepidation and Rei realised with surprise that this girl was frightened of her. Surprise because as far as anyone in this town knew she was a normal muggle girl and what on Earth would a vampire fear from a non-magical person?

"Alaric told me," Rei explained slowly, "Um…Am I allowed inside?" She joked, hoping to break some of the tension.

"Come in, Rei!" An exasperated voice that sounded an awful lot like Alaric called out loudly.

The blonde seemed to jump back to reality and quickly stepped aside to allow her entrance, "Sorry," Caroline apologised quietly, eyes on the floor.

Rei couldn't help but frown at the female vampire as she stepped over the threshold. She knew that she wasn't a very intimidating looking person. Growing up it had been both a great source of frustration to her and a saving grace. If people hadn't spent so much time underestimating her before her majority she wouldn't have been able to get away with half of the _truly _outrageous things she'd pulled at that age. So why was the blonde acting so timidly around her?

Looking past the strange vampire and into a cavernous sized room, Rei abruptly stiffened when she realised that every single pair of eyes was focused unerringly on her.

"…Well, this isn't at all awkward…" Rei coughed.

Alaric stepped forward with an apologetic smile, shooting a disapproving glare at everyone else over his shoulder as he walked towards her, "Glad you could make it," He told her sincerely. "Here, let me introduce you to everyone."

"Wait up!" Damon ordered harshly stopping Alaric mid-motion, his hand already half outstretched in Jeremy Gilbert's direction.

Rei smiled subtly at the young man Tyler Lockwood had introduced her to the other day. Jeremy was blinking at her in surprise but he managed a slight curl of his lips in reply to her unspoken hello, having obviously not connected her face with her name before now.

"What is it Damon?" Alaric asked with forced patience.

Ice blue eyes radiating hostility locked on her.

"For reasons that I cannot fathom, you are being trusted with information that, personally? I think you have no business knowing. Nonetheless, should I find out that you have told _any _of what you learn here today to another living being, I will rip your tongue from your mouth and force feed it to you…Capeesh?"

Rei let a stunning smile widen her lips, the expression so at odds with the honest threat that had just been levelled at her that she knew it would only infuriate someone of Damon's personality.

"Of course, blue eyes," She inclined her head politely, her voice completely steady.

Without warning, before she could even blink, Damon was towering over her, eyes dark and his fangs exposed as his human veneer melted away.

"Don't think for a moment that I won't follow through, princess," He growled in her face, mocking her right back with his own nickname.

"Damon!" Alaric barked angrily from beside her, reaching a hand out to restrain his friend but the vampire just shook him off.

Emerald eyes narrowed on the smirking creature staring her down but before she even had the chance to say anything, Damon's face suddenly contorted. He let out a muffled yell of pain as he staggered back, hands clutching at his head.

What the hell?!

With a speed honed by the war's demands, Rei's eyes immediately sought out the culprit, her mind providing her with countless lists of things to look for that would betray a disguised wand wielder or magical creature.

What she found surprised her.

A black haired, exotic featured girl was glaring at the bent over figure of Damon with utmost concentration in her eyes.

Rei's spine straightened as understanding flooded her.

Wiccan.

…

Bonnie didn't know exactly what it was about her, but as soon as she'd laid eyes on the beautiful, fey-like young woman, her instincts had at once settled, utterly at ease in her presence, while her magic had jumped, abruptly escaping her tight control in a way that it never had before.

Acting of its own accord, before she could force it back under her control, her magic flared out in a non-violent but no less potent warning of her power.

She'd spent a frantic couple of minutes silently engrossed with wrestling her restless magic back under her control. When she'd finally looked back up, only to see Damon glaring darkly down at Rei, fangs exposed and the veins around his eyes dark, Bonnie had simply reacted.

The cold touch of a hand on her arm broke her concentration, releasing Damon from her power. She looked up to see Caroline's concerned blue eyes gazing down at her.

"What the hell was that for?!" Her least favourite Salvatore groaned darkly.

Bonnie glanced down at him with a blank face, forcefully shaking off her unease with the knowledge that she couldn't afford to show weakness around the vampire.

"I'd say it was because you were being an even bigger jerk than normal," Bonnie darted a look at her annoyed history teacher and couldn't help but smile when she heard Caroline snort loudly from beside her.

Stefan ignored everyone, his face contrite as he stepped towards Rei, "I apologise for my brother-"

Bonnie watched with wary eyes as the green eyed girl raised a hand, her body language undaunted. "Don't bother." She stated simply, as if Damon's threat had been nothing.

Annoyed with herself for feeling so insecure, Bonnie stepped forward determinedly.

"I'm Bonnie Bennet, it's nice to meet you," She couldn't help admiring the captivating bright green colour that was instantly focused on her.

The black haired girl smiled back at her with genuine warmth in her eyes.

"I must say," Her soft British accent suited her perfectly. "I've never met a witch before, it is a pleasure."

Bonnie blinked with shock, "You know what I am?"

The girl nodded eagerly, "I've heard about your kind, yes. Though I never thought I'd ever actually get to meet one of you."

The honestly positive reaction sparked incredible warmth inside of her, and Bonnie couldn't help but smile when she noticed the way Rei's childish excitement was making her emerald orbs sparkle. She'd never had someone react quite like this to finding out what she was.

There was no fear. No wariness. Just pure, unadulterated excitement.

Bonnie hadn't even realised how desperate she was for others to accept her magic. Not just accept...but to actually rejoice in it.

Her smile widened.

…

Rei leaned against the back of the couch, arms folded, silently listening as the group before her argued about the best way to trap and kill a vampire more than double their age.

"I want no mistakes tonight," Damon warned lowly, "So anyone that doesn't think they can go through with this, raise your cowardly hand, and get out."

She'd gotten the world's quickest run-down of their problem once all the introductions had finished. Rei wouldn't dispute the fact that finding out how Mystic Falls also housed the rare phenomenon of doppelgangers' didn't interest her, because it did. But doppelgangers' were more of a fabulous novelty than anything else. Rumours of their intrinsic magical power had been disproved centuries ago, but still, it wasn't something you saw every day.

But honestly, were they serious?!

Wanting to see how they interacted with each other, who took orders from whom, the people that were closer allies than others, which individuals they instinctively deferred to, Rei had made the decision to keep her silence. Even the vampires, their predator's senses not allowing them to forget she was there, would naturally act more like themselves if she didn't keep reminding them all of her presence by speaking.

But, come on, she couldn't possibly be the only one in the room that was seeing the _glaring_ problems in their little plot, could she? Was that even possible?

"Don't look at me," Caroline scoffed, "She killed me. Far as I'm concerned she'll get what's coming to her."

"Alright," Bonnie's expression was unsure as she stepped forward, "but no one gets hurt."

Rei had to literally bite her tongue to keep from commenting. No one gets hurt? Really? The sheer number of holes in their plan was baffling to her. It was like they _wanted_ it to go up in flames with the amount of figurative kindling they were giving their enemy.

"I'll stay home with Jenna," Alaric assured a worried Stefan, "Keep Elena there."

"Good," Damon grinned sadistically, twirling a wooden stake in his hand. "Tonight, Katherine gets a stake in her heart."

Rei snorted. She couldn't help it.

Instantly, all eyes were on her.

"Something to say, princess?" Damon sneered with deep dislike.

"Rei?" Alaric frowned.

She bit her lip, annoyed with herself.

They were all looking at her expectedly now, and truth be told, her conscience wouldn't let her walk out that door without speaking up either. Not now she was privy to their…strategy.

"Okay," Rei exhaled loudly, pushing her hair behind her ears. "I don't mean to criticise your plan, but are you sure that confronting this vampire at a ball full of innocent, easily killed humans is really advisable?" She stared at them piercingly, hoping that her ridiculously polite words were enough of a nudge.

Boarding school, Quidditch, the war; all of them had required a working knowledge of the group dynamic. Not Rei's strong suit considering that she had, as Hermione had dubbed it, 'trust issues'. But one thing had certainly become clear in her vast array of experiences; nobody upon nobody liked being corrected. It didn't matter if you were the Minister of Magic and a fifteen year old girl was telling you how to do your job, or Seamus Finnegan, when his crush had gently demonstrated the correct amount of bats wings you were meant to add to the bruise vanishing potion.

No-one enjoyed having their mistakes pointed out to them; it was a fact of life.

"Katherine is expecting us to meet her at the ball; we didn't choose the venue, she did." Stefan told her with a patient, forbearing expression on his face.

And wasn't that another interesting thing she'd discovered. This whole debacle was over the same stone that she'd found at the bottom of the well. Seems her safely hidden away prize was an even greater one than she'd anticipated.

"Exactly," Rei nodded.

Stefan frowned at her with clear uncertainty and with effort; Rei forced her exasperation back, allowing none of her frustration to show as she continued to explain in a pleasantly polite tone.

"This Katherine obviously picked the town event because it's her 'higher ground'. Instead of trying to figure out how to work around the problem of battling it out with an over four hundred year old vampire unnoticed, why not find a way to draw her to a location that is beneficial to you?"

Seriously, this was like, strategy 101.

The quiet, blonde haired vampire nodded hesitantly, "Um," she bit her lip, looking unsure of her words welcome. "If it helps, my Mum always says that keeping civilians as far away from the danger actually helps cops do their job. Without having to worry about their protection they can focus on taking the threat out."

Rei noticed Alaric and Damon exchanging considering looks at the back of the room, while at the exact same moment Stefan shook his head, unmoved.

"Katherine is smart." Stefan reminded them. "She'll be expecting us to do something like that. It would be easier to take her off guard; by making her think everything is going as she wants it to rather than raise her suspicions by forcing her out of her comfort zone."

Rei barely controlled the roll of her eyes. Luckily, she wasn't the only one that was seeing what she had to say as something of merit. It just surprised her that it was him.

"The princess might actually have a point Stefan," Damon grimaced, as if admitting the words had literally hurt him. "Katherine's going to be on guard anyway. She'd be a moron to think that if we did have the stone we'd just hand it over. We have little to lose and a lot to gain if we take this fight somewhere else."

Rei watched as Stefan exhaled loudly, obviously knowing that he'd already been outvoted. "Fine," He waved his agitation away, visibly forcing himself to concentrate back on the problem and not his own reservations. "How?" Stefan asked the room at large.

…

Bonnie dragged her curious eyes away from Rei, frowning at the wall opposite her as she tried to think of a solution. It was such a simple suggestion, and yet, if they could pull it off it would make everything so much easier.

"You said that the spell you'll have to cast in order to keep the vampire bound inside the room is a taxing one Bonnie." Startled out of her thoughts, she looked around only to lock gazes with emerald green orbs.

"Sorry?" She frowned.

Rei smiled at her kindly, "Isn't there anything you might cast on your target to incapacitate her? Something that isn't so draining?" Their guest hadn't finished dropping effortless pearls of wisdom, it would seem. "You already said that giving her an aneurysm like you did earlier with Damon didn't work, but surely that isn't the end of your options, is it?"

Bonnie could only stare at her, utterly confused. Why did she feel such an enormous sense of…partnership with this girl? Such presumptuous comments about her magic _always_ irked her. She hated it when Damon started flinging out demands, hated how they told her how to use her magic in any given circumstance. But she didn't feel usurped or insulted by Rei…and she should.

"Well," She placed her grimoire on the table in front of her, eyeing the suddenly hopeful people around her with trepidation. "Um, let me just look," Bonnie asked her audience.

"What makes you think she has a spell like that?" Damon demanded suspiciously.

Against her will, she glanced up to hear the answer.

Rei shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't. It just seems logical to me that a witch would have more of a repertoire at her disposal."

Bonnie looked back down, flicking the pages quickly. She vaguely remembered reading something about inducing paralysis; at least, she hoped that was it. Sucking in a breath, her fingers abruptly stilled in their frantic movements.

"I found it!" Her obvious excitement at her discovery made her cringe barely a second later.

Damon already saw her as a novice witch; she despised doing anything that confirmed that label in his eyes. Forcing her inner recriminations aside for the moment, she read the spell's requirements out loud.

"I need something that belonged to the subject, something personal." She looked at the Salvatore's expectantly, her silent question obvious.

Stefan finally caved and asked them to wait as he sped out of the room.

A tense silence instantly descended on the room as everyone waited anxiously for the younger Salvatore brother to return.

"…What's that your reading from, Bonnie?" Rei asked curiously, her question loud in the absolute silence that had invaded the space. She was studying the old pages with an almost palpable interest, not noticing the multiple pairs of wide eyes that were now trained on her.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one shocked by the girl's apparent ignorance.

"How is it possible that you 'simply believe' that Bonnie would have a spell to incapacitate a vampire but not recognise a witch's cookbook when you see one?" Damon sneered at her.

"Damon!" Alaric hissed at his friend, angry at his rudeness.

Still, he had a point. Bonnie glanced back down at the pages before looking up at the confused girl with a timid smile.

"This book belonged to an ancestor of mine, a powerful witch named Emily Bennet. Witches often record the spells that they invent and pass it down through their line. The book grows as each owner contributes to its thickness. I haven't even finished reading it completely." She admitted sheepishly.

Rei looked completely engrossed by her words, "Incredible," She murmured to herself. Bonnie heard her impressed exclamation and couldn't help the flush of pride that it engendered inside of her.

"Here," Stefan was suddenly in front of her, handing her a metal picture of Elena's double. "It belonged to her," He seemed embarrassed that all of us now knew he'd kept the memento all these years.

Picking up an empty bowl that was lying beside her, Bonnie unceremoniously dropped the picture inside; reciting the words from the book as she did so. While it slowly burnt and the pile of ashes grew, she explained how any contact with the dust would paralyse Katherine for a few minutes, giving them more than enough time to carry her from the ball and stake her.

"Perfect," Damon grinned, clasping his hands together with satisfaction as he eyed the dying flames in the bowl. "Guess there's only one more thing about our new plan to make it foolproof." He suddenly glanced up at their guest, a smug smirk on his lips, "An assassin she won't be expecting."

Feeling something running down her nose, Bonnie hurriedly raised a hand to brush it away, only when she looked down there was blood staining her skin. She hastily wiped it against her clothes, not wanting anyone to see.

"No way, Damon!" Alaric exclaimed furiously, distracting her from her own worried thoughts. "This isn't Rei's fight. We can't ask her to do this!"

"It's not fair, Damon!" Caroline glared at the vampire hotly.

What were they arguing about?

"Why not?" The eldest Salvatore brother countered. "It's perfect. Katherine has never met little Miss Potter. The princess wasn't around for the times where Barbie and Jenna were spying and reporting everything back to her. She'll never see it coming." He declared in a voice that said 'subject closed'.

Bonnie couldn't help it; she glared at the blue eyed vampire blackly. She'd been dragged into helping so many times that she couldn't help but sympathise now that she was seeing it happen to somebody else.

"Stefan!" Alaric exclaimed, "Tell him he's crazy!" He demanded.

Stefan looked conflicted. He could clearly see the obvious benefit of Damon's strategy but his conscience wasn't allowing him to admit out loud that he agreed with his brother. Bonnie gritted her teeth together in aggravation.

"Excuse me?" The bored drawl of the subject of their heated argument suddenly spoke up.

Rei Potter was looking at all of them with a small smile of amusement on her lips that Bonnie simply couldn't understand. Didn't she realise what Damon was going to make her do?!

"Seeing as how you're all discussing something you want me to do, wouldn't the best course of action be to ask me directly? I assure you, it would solve this whole debate very quickly." The petite, raven haired young woman smiled at them charmingly.

Caroline suddenly leaned down so that she could whisper in Bonnie's ear, "She's angry." The blonde whispered so softly that even the other supernatural creatures in the room didn't hear her comment.

Bonnie glanced up at her with a frown of confusion, but Caroline wasn't looking at her; her friend's eyes were fixed on the unfolding scene playing out in front of them. Rei didn't look angry to her but then again her friend had always had a scary ability to pick these sorts of things, she'd learned to just trust her. When it came to reading people the blonde was rarely wrong.

Stefan smiled apologetically at their guest, "Of course, you're right. Sometimes in the heat of the moment we…" He trailed off realised quickly that it wouldn't help his case. "Would you be willing to help us?" Stefan asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Damon rolled his eyes, "I mean, you seem to want in so badly anyway, what with your 'suggestions' every five minutes."

Rei smiled at all of them pleasantly, slowly nodding her understanding even as she ignored the rude remark.

"I'm sorry, but no." She declined with a small shrug.

Silence.

Absolute, complete silence.

"No?" Damon repeated with honest shock.

"Were you truly expecting me to agree?" Rei asked incredulously, her crinkled forehead saying without words that she thought them very odd.

And Bonnie realised that that was exactly what they'd expected.

She might not feel comfortable with it, she might not want it to happen and she might comprehend exactly how wrong it would be to ask such a dangerous thing of someone who was a stranger to their problems but, yes. They had all expected her to agree.

Rei picked up her messenger bag in the awkward silence, slinging it over her shoulder.

"You seem to be under the misapprehension that I will jump when you say jump, Damon. Not only is that simply not the case but I have to ask, why would you ever think it was?" She tilted her head curiously.

Damon grit his teeth together tightly, the tick in his jaw evidence enough of his steadily rising frustration. "You heard Bonnie. All you would have to do is throw the ashes on her. We'll do the rest! Is that really so hard? Are you really that much of a coward?!"

Bonnie tensed when she saw Rei abruptly still. Emerald eyes glanced slowly around the roomful of bewildered expressions.

She chuckled.

"...This is your fight, not mine." Rei shook her head.

Bonnie felt her breath leave her in one breath as she stared up at the composed girl blankly. She made it look so easy. Her shoulders sagged and she seemed to completely deflate. She'd fought internally against the pressure that came with helping the Salvatore's enough times to know that it was never so easy. Even when she didn't want to do sometime, like disable the invention, she'd been riddled with guilt over her actions.

It wasn't as easy as Rei made it look and yet, the Bennett witch realised as she watched the young woman with hopeful envy that it was also _exactly_ as easy as she made it seem.

No.

Such a simple word yet, so powerful at the same time.

Bonnie stepped forward determinedly, a wide, understanding smile on her lips, "Thank-you very much for your suggestions, Rei. I appreciate the help. You didn't have to give it."

Rei wasn't their only option. They have a good plan now, and while she might have been the _best _option, they had no right to look at her like her polite refusal was something terrible. It wasn't. It was just her choice. And it wasn't going to bring the world down.

Caroline coughed shyly before stepping forward so that she was level with Bonnie.

"Maybe, we could…hang out sometime?" Her friend asked hesitantly, the confident social butterfly not really knowing how to act around someone that knew what she really was. "I-I mean, only if you wanted to."

Bonnie saw Alaric smiling at them out of the corner of her eye, but it was when she caught the flash of surprise in emerald green orbs that sudden resolve to befriend this girl gripped her tightly.

"Yeah, it can be a girl's thing," Bonnie smiled at Caroline's brightening face and then at Rei's speechless one.

For the first time she saw the girl looking honestly hesitant.

"Seriously?!" Damon threw his arms in the air. "You're making a play date?" He demanded. "Now!"

The three girls ignored him easily and Bonnie heard Jeremy snigger behind her.

Rei shifted on her feet, biting her lip before she finally nodded with a tiny smile. "Sure," She murmured. "I'd like that."

"Great!" Caroline trilled excitedly, her natural liveliness reappearing. "Mr Saltzman has your number so we'll get it from him." She assured the black haired girl with confidence. "And we'll text you to let you know how today goes."

Rei's smile widened slightly.

"Though I have to admit, I'm so much happier knowing I'm not going to have to actively try and lie to Katherine. You have no idea how scary she is-!"

"And there's the Caroline we all know and love," Bonnie bumped the blonde teasingly. "You were being so quiet I thought that you'd set some kind of new record for the longest time you've ever gone without speaking." She laughed, and with shock she realised that it'd been a long time since she'd done that. Really, genuinely, laughed.

Damon groaned with defeat, flopping back on the couch with a pout.

…

"Oh my God!" Caroline huffed, swiftly readjusting her grip on the two arms she was carrying. "You wouldn't know by looking at her, that she was so heavy!" She complained in a harsh whisper.

Jeremy shot her an unamused glare. "You're a vampire Caroline," He growled lowly, shifting Katherine's legs. "You've got super strength!"

She glared up at him, annoyed. "Seriously Jeremy, you couldn't just let me enjoy it, could you?" Caroline snapped hotly. "It's the principle of the thing. Even four hundred year old grandmas with eternal youth suffer from vanity, believe you me."

The female vampire they were currently lugging across the Lockwood lawn had killed her. Couldn't Elena's brother just be a sport and let her vent with all her immature 'fat' jokes? It wasn't that much to ask!

Feeling movement, the blonde looked down only to gasp with panic when she noticed a finger moving.

"She's coming around!" Caroline shrieked as softly as she could, well aware that they weren't in the clear yet and the Lockwood grounds were very popular for couples to take walks in. "Quickly the ash!" She pointed frantically at the stirring Katherine.

Jeremy hastily reached into his suit jacket and grabbed a small amount of the powder concealed there, quickly scattering it all over Katherine's vulnerable face.

She heard them before she saw them.

Without warning her male accomplice, Caroline abruptly let go of the hag, watching with satisfaction as her head hit the grassy ground, completely ruining her hairstyle. Before Jeremy even had time to do anything but scowl at her with confusion, Damon and Stefan were there.

"Great job guys," Stefan smiled at them sincerely, his hazel eyes scrutinising his former lover's immobilised figure suspiciously. He'd been burned by her too many times in the past not to feel cautious.

Damon didn't bother acknowledging them. Crouching down so that his face was only inches from the paralysed female vampire, he asked them, in an uncharacteristically solemn voice, if they'd had any trouble.

Caroline shook her head, watching Damon curiously as she spoke.

"No, it went off without a hitch. When she couldn't find you she came looking for me and, as you predicated, she didn't expect that Jeremy would be the one to make a move against her. She actually did most of the work for us by taking us to a private part of the mansion to 'interrogate me'. Then Jeremy shoved a cloud full of dirt in her face." Caroline grinned proudly at the male Gilbert standing beside her. She'd known him since they were toddlers and he'd really done his part tonight.

Damon didn't say anything.

"You sure taking her to the tomb, is the best idea?" Jeremy tried convincing them yet again to end the threat of Katherine once and for all but they wouldn't hear of it.

"It's better this way," Stefan nodded to himself.

"Alright," Caroline drew the word out letting her own agreement with Jeremy be heard. "We'll head back then. Good luck." She had no idea why she was wishing them luck but somehow it seemed appropriate.

Jeremy wordlessly handed over what was left of the ash to Damon, and then the Salvatore brothers were gone.

Caroline smiled brightly and turned on her heel to walk back across the grounds and rejoin the party, fully intending to appreciate the town event now that business had been taken care of.

The night was young yet.

…

Jeremy watched Bonnie from the corner of his eye; he couldn't seem to help it lately. Had she always been this pretty?

They were walking down the path talking casually, actually enjoying a party that none of them thought they'd have the time to appreciate, when he was abruptly jerked off the path and behind tall palms that would shield them from view.

"What the hell-?!"

"What's going on?" His sister demanded, cutting him off cleanly. Her face stony.

Bonnie suddenly rounded the corner, her expression worried and determined at the same time. When she laid eyes on Elena he saw her visibly relax, her anxiety leaving her.

"Elena, what are you doing here?" He asked with confusion.

She bristled. Actually bristled.

"What are _you _doing here, Jer?!" She whisper shouted. "It's dangerous! Katherine is hell bent on getting the moonstone and-"

"Katherine's been dealt with," He shrugged, smothering the smile of amusement that wanted to take over his face with effort. Bonnie's equally prideful, happy eyes weren't helping him keep the urge in check though.

Elena grasped his arm, pulling him close, her head shaking frantically side to side as a desperate look took over her face. "You're all going to get yourselves killed if you go up against Katherine. I need to keep us safe, don't you understand that?! You're going to get hurt because of me!"

"Elena," Bonnie interrupted gently, a smile on her lips as she touched her best friend's shoulder. "You don't have to worry anymore. She's gone. We took care of it."

…

"What?" Elena breathed, their collective words finally sinking in. "How!"

Jeremy and Bonnie smiled at each other over his sister's head.

"Change of plans." He grinned widely when Bonnie smothered a laugh, catching the reference from earlier. Elena's utterly lost expression entertaining him immensely.

…

_Hey all! Did you like it? Not like it? Elijah's almost here! Should be interesting, huh? ;D_


	8. Interesting

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

Rei tapped her finger against her leg, glaring blackly at the wall opposite her.

She was bored. Terribly, completely, she wasn't sure she had ever been at this level of absolute boredom, bored.

There was nothing to do. Nothing! Seriously, how did people live in this town?!

She'd woken up at the crack of dawn, raring to go. A quick shower, banana and cup of tea had wasted all of thirty minutes before she'd shoved her dirty dishes in the sink and sprinted up the stairs to the attic. Her entire concentration focused on completing her first wandless transfiguration. To say that she was furious would be an understatement when, barely an hour later, familiar tingles of pain in her head and joints had begun to materialise and all that sat on the table was the world's most useless letter opener.

Dr Bryant had said that when those symptoms started to stir, it was her body's way of telling her to stop. He'd even had the gumption to say that he thought it a very elegant system. By that stage she'd hardly been able to get out of bed, a fact which the healer ought to be inordinately grateful for, otherwise, he'd have had to explain to his colleagues why the Girl-who-lived gave him a black eye.

As it stood right now, her body could only handle a maximum of one hour of magic once a day. Her only consolation was that the more she improved, the more magic her body and core got used to channelling, the shorter her recovery time would become.

But sadly, it left her in the impossible situation of having absolutely nothing to do with herself during her unoccupied waking hours.

Rei suddenly pushed herself off the couch and stalked towards the front door. Grabbing her jacket from the coat stand that she'd placed there yesterday, she made sure that she had her house keys before pulling the door open and stepping out into the early morning air.

She breathed in deeply before bending down to tighten the laces on her running shoes.

Peering at the nature around her, Rei decided that she didn't really care where she ended up and set off at a brisk jog down her long drive. If nothing else, the exercise would help her get rid of at least some of the excess energy that had been gathering up inside of her for days now, determined to drive her crazy.

It was only minutes later that she was locking the gate to her property shut behind her, and following the highway down into the main street of town. When she'd been driving around the other day she noticed a park just beyond the main town square that had several trails leading into the woods. Sure, the actual run might take more than an hour but apparently, Rei grumbled internally, she had the time.

Jogging lazily down the early morning footpath she was just passing the Grill when she suddenly crashed into somebody.

She wasn't prepared in the least and her fall reflected that. Bouncing off a hard chest, her considerably smaller figure fell back onto the hard path, her elbow grazing against the concrete while her butt took most of the impact.

"Ow," She swore colourfully under her breath, instinctively bringing a hand to her backside in some futile effort to relieve the injured soreness there.

A hand suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.

Rei blinked and looked up. A kind looking man with glasses was staring down at her with a small amused smile on his lips. She took stock of his tall figure with exasperation, seriously how hadn't she seen him?

"Thanks," She muttered, probably not as graciously as she should have, but the cause of her accident didn't seem to mind.

He chuckled lowly as she reached up to take hold of his hand. "Sorry about that," He apologised, pulling her to her feet.

Rei didn't look at him, too busy dusting herself off. Consequently, she never saw the way his brown eyes narrowed on her petite form behind his square framed glasses.

"I'm Dr Jonas Martin," He introduced. "Will you accept my apologies, Miss…?"

"Rei Potter," She finally shook off her immature annoyance and smiled up at the man. "And it's no problem. I'm not usually a clumsy person so hopefully we don't meet like this again."

Dr Martin smiled a strained, close lipped smile and this time, Rei noticed.

Her eyes sharpened, studying his figure carefully, and when she spoke her tone was light, betraying none of her swiftly aroused distrust. "I don't think I've seen you around town?"

"No, my son and I just moved here."

Rei nodded silently, not liking the way he seemed to be measuring her with his stare. "Well, it was nice to meet you but I want to finish my run so,…" She trailed off.

He stepped aside, raising an inviting arm out to the path in front of her. "Don't let me keep you."

Rei gave him one last lingering look before nodding curtly and taking off.

That was weird. And she wasn't imagining it either. Still, there was nothing that she could do about it now. She didn't even know what her instincts were telling her to be wary of.

Running through the park, she chose a random trail and entered the tree-line without hesitation. It wasn't long before the sounds of traffic finally faded and she smiled, picking up her pace.

…

Caroline frowned at the struggling brunette walking beside her; stubbornly refusing to offer any assistance with the heavy bag that she was carrying despite the fact that out of the two of them she was the only one with enhanced strength. Call it her small revenge.

She sighed, annoyed. "Elena, please just listen," Caroline entreated. "This is a bad idea. She's not going to tell you anything."

"I told you," Elena grunted with effort, switching the bag to her other hand. "Rose and Trevor were running from Elijah for helping Katherine escape Klaus. Rose said that Trevor made the mistake of trusting her, she knows."

That was not her point!

"Fine, so Katherine is caught up in this and she does know some things. Answer me this, why on Earth would she tell _you_ anything?!" She waved her hands out to her sides dramatically.

"That's why I needed the blood, Care," Elena explained as they continued towards the church ruins. "She'll be starving by now; perhaps the thought of a meal will loosen her tongue."

Caroline groaned loudly, making it clear that she thought this was a terrible idea.

"And how am I meant to distract Stefan?" She demanded. "The man's head over heels for you, sometimes I think that you're the only thing he ever thinks about!"

Elena shot her a small glare, "You've had practice, I'm sure you'll think of something."

Caroline's face immediately dropped at the pointed reminder of her earlier betrayal and she could tell that her friend already felt guilty for bringing it up. Spying on them for Katherine was something that she felt terrible for, Elena knew that.

"Katherine threatened me! Not saying you should use that as a strategy, but-" The blonde abruptly cut off. Her body whirling around, she cocked her head to the side listening to something only she could hear.

"What is it?" Elena asked her body tense.

"I don't know," Caroline said slowly, a wrinkle in her brow. "It's a heartbeat but…it sounds, human?" She had no idea if that was right or not, she wasn't experienced enough to know what her newly enhanced senses were trying to tell her with any degree of certainty.

Elena sucked in a breath.

…

She had been running for a while now, her throat was burning and her leg muscles screamed at her to slow down. It felt wonderful, and Rei pushed herself to go faster, now flying through the trees at a full sprint.

She wasn't expecting it.

Caught up in the high she was getting, compliments of the punishing pace she was forcing her body to maintain, the tingling sensation seemed to sneak up on her. Spikes of pain began shooting up her neck, increasing in frequency and degree until she could no longer ignore the sensation.

Bringing a hand up to rub ineffectively at her temple, Rei slowed her bruising run to a jog until finally, she stopped.

Magic.

Turning around in a full circle Rei tried to identify the source to no avail, all she could see were trees.

Emerald eyes narrowed with thought, and without hesitation she set off in the direction she had been running, the increasing thump in her head telling her she was going the right way. Straining her hearing to try and pick up any betraying signs that she was being followed, Rei hadn't been walking for more than two minutes before she found it.

Stone ruins of some sort of structure lay in a decrepit mess at her feet, but that wasn't what interested her.

Rei tilted her head, critically surveying the ruins as curious bright green orbs ran over the old structure lazily.

"...Now what do we have here," She murmured to herself.

…

"I'm fine," Caroline hurried to reassure her, having seen Elena's worried look in her direction. "I already ate this morning."

"Oh," The brunette shook her head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to, you know." She shrugged uncomfortably.

Caroline smiled tightly, "It's fine. I'd probably react the same way in your position." Her lack of trust did hurt though. She pointed at the ruins in wordless explanation, "The heartbeat's coming from the church though."

Elena whipped around, brown hair flying out behind her, "What?" She breathed with dread.

"The stone slab is blocking the entrance, don't worry," She reminded her.

Elena shook her head, "No, that's not-" The brunette turned around to fix her with a worried look. "What if Katherine had an ally that we didn't know about, what if they came looking for her?"

Caroline couldn't help glancing passed Elena to look at where she knew the steps leading down to the tomb were located, biting her lip.

"Come on," Elena gestured for her to follow with a wave, already walking determinedly towards the stairs.

Caroline looked behind her, hoping that Stefan had somehow already figured out where they were but nothing but trees met her gaze. Exhaling, she breathed in deeply before following in Elena's wake.

The pair walked slowly down the spiral stairs. Caroline couldn't hear anything beyond a calm sounding heartbeat and steady breathing but she knew her friend had no such advantage. Positioning herself so that she entered the underground cavern first, when she finally laid eyes on the culprit her jaw dropped.

"Rei?!"

Standing in front of the entrance, arms folded, gazing at the star pentacle that decorated the stone guarding the tomb with a tilted head, was the girl that she'd met at the Salvatore Boarding House not two days ago.

Elena stepped up to her side, "What are you doing down here?" She demanded coldly.

Caroline wanted to hit the brunette for being so obviously suspicious, but in all honesty, she too was having a hard time explaining away the English girl's presence here as a mere coincidence.

Rei turned to look at them with surprised eyes, "What are you two doing here?" She asked, completely ignoring their question.

Elena was having none of it; she moved forward with a shake of her head, looking at the black haired girl through narrowed eyes. "No, we're not doing that. How do you know about this place?"

Rei arched a delicate brow at her friend's hard tone, and Caroline was suddenly brought back to earlier when the fey-like girl had so effortlessly stood up to Damon, someone far more intimidating than either of them were.

"Elena," Caroline cautioned softly, without words advising her friend not to jump to conclusions that she might regret. She was ignored.

Green eyes flicked towards her, "I was running and came across the ruins. I'm a curious person, when I saw the stairs I came down to explore." Rei shrugged with a small frown. "Why, is that a problem?"

She breathed out a breath of relief, at the same time feeling guilty for instantly thinking the worst of her.

"Sorry," Caroline smiled apologetically. "We didn't mean to jump on you, did we Elena?" She glared at the brunette pointedly.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Elena didn't entirely trust Rei's explanation; one only had to look at her guarded brown eyes to know that.

Determined to make up for the brunette's off-putting behaviour she turned a bright smile on the girl she hoped to befriend.

"Did you get my text the other night?" She asked eagerly.

Caroline had wasted no time in texting the English girl to let her know what a great success her plan had been, but unfortunately, what with all the drama that happened the next day, she hadn't had the chance to follow up before now.

Rei looked at her, a bit stumped by the change in topic. "Yeah-"

"Wait," Elena raised a hand, interrupting. "You two know each other?"

Caroline frowned at the brunette with confusion. Of course they knew each other, they'd met the other day when everyone…

"Oh yeah, sorry," She chuckled sheepishly, sending a humour filled glance Rei's way. "With everything going on, everyone must have forgotten to tell you."

She saw Elena's brows draw down in a frown at her choice of words but Caroline wasn't surprised. Ever since she could remember the eldest Gilbert had always despised being left out of anything.

"Caroline and I met at the Boarding House the day before yesterday," By stepping in, Rei unknowingly saved her from Elena's growing ire; the brunette was now looking at the curly black haired girl with even more confusion than before. "Alaric asked me to come over."

…

Elena's mouth formed a small 'o' shape.

"I had no idea," The words were strained and she knew from the disapproving look that Care shot her way that she was being impolite, but she couldn't help it.

She was feeling distinctly out of place and awkward. Rei Potter always seemed to be completely at ease, totally confident in her own skin and Elena just didn't quite know how to act around her.

Rei just hummed her agreement; green eyes darting over to the tomb entrance. Elena followed her gaze but found nothing particularly interesting. What was she looking at?

The muscles in her arms were beginning to ache from holding the big bag and it reminded her that she had a time sensitive goal to accomplish. "Well, sorry for interrupting your run, we'll just let you get back to it." Elena gave an expectant, close lipped smile, waiting for the black haired girl to leave.

Rei raised an eyebrow at her, emerald eyes knowing but not interested enough in what she was hiding to pursue the information. Elena couldn't help but feel decidedly immature under that honestly, friendly gaze.

"There's no need for that, Elena," Care explained with a careless wave. Elena felt her face freeze. "Rei already knows about Katherine." The blonde turned towards the mildly interested girl with an enthusiastic air. "Your plan worked perfectly by the way. I know I already texted you to tell you how it went, but seriously, it couldn't have gone better." She grinned excitedly.

Elena felt her stomach drop to her feet. She turned slowly to look at Rei, her face incredulous, "It was your idea?" She choked out.

Bonnie and Jeremy had refused to explain anything to her when she'd questioned them at the ball. They just kept saying that she didn't have to worry, that everything had been taken care of and that they wanted to enjoy the rest of their night.

Caroline answered her question with an animated grin, "Yep! You should have seen Damon's face, Elena!" The blonde laughed then.

Rei chuckled at the memory Care was talking about, while Elena just stared at the comfortable two with total bewilderment.

Why hadn't anyone told her about this?!

"That still doesn't explain why you two are all the way out here though." The green eyed girl reminded them. "And don't you have school today? Or does class start later in America then it does in England?" She asked with open curiousity.

Was she serious?

Caroline nodded quickly, opening her mouth to explain.

"Wait Care!" Elena tried to keep her voice steady but she didn't think she succeeded very well.

She didn't know if it was because she just hadn't been made privy to whatever had made Caroline so readily trust the girl or not, but her gut was telling her not to be so naive.

"I'm, um, sure that Rei has better things to do than hear about our petty problems." The excuse was weak and she barely managed to suppress her wince of shame, but at the same time she was relieved to have stopped her friend in time.

Caroline glared at her knowing exactly what she was doing.

"She's going to find out anyway, Elena." She didn't even have time to be properly surprised by her normally loyal friend's obvious annoyance at her. "Katherine's been trapped under the tomb with a spell that keeps vampires from leaving." The blonde explained succinctly.

She didn't want to react in front of Rei, didn't want to expose the divided front that was her and Caroline, but the level of her shock wouldn't allow it, "Care!" Her tone was appalled.

Sky blue eyes looked at her disbelieving face with the first stirrings of guilt when Rei suddenly interrupted.

"So you didn't end up killing her then?" Her voice was surprised and Elena immediately whipped around to study her.

"No," She answered carefully. "Stefan and Damon thought it a just punishment to entomb her." She explained.

Rei's spine abruptly straightened, a darkness passing in front of her eyes that Elena couldn't make sense of. "They must be very confident that she won't find a way out then," She stated coolly.

Elena was relieved to see Caroline now looking at Rei with puzzlement, glad she wasn't the only one.

"She can't," The blonde assured her. "Somebody would have to bring down the spell and the only people that know she's here would never do it."

Bright green orbs remained unimpressed by the assurance. "Just seems an awful lot to gamble for the sake of revenge."

Was that judgement she was hearing?

"You don't have to worry, Rei," Elena said confidently, feeling a strange need to justify the Salvatore brothers' decision. "She's not getting out."

Rei looked down at the large bag that Elena was carrying with new eyes, "You're going to talk to her?" She asked slowly.

Caroline nodded before Elena could even contemplate a way to distract the English girl, and she determined that she needed to speak to the blonde as soon as possible. It was one thing to be friendly; it was another entirely to be careless.

"Alright," Rei sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "I guess I'll leave you to it then." She began walking past them and Elena couldn't help her next words.

"That's it?" She asked, shocked by how easily she was leaving. They hadn't even had to ask her to yet.

Rei turned around with baffled eyes, "What?"

Elena gestured at the tomb entrance, "I'm just surprised," She admitted. "If it was me I would want to know-"

Rei interrupted her awkward explanation with a laugh, cutting her off. "It's fine, Elena," The black haired girl smiled at her with amusement. "I'm not going to poke my head into business that doesn't concern me." She raised a hand to forestall Care's imminent denial that this was her business and she wasn't intruding. "Thank-you Caroline, but truly, I'm fine not meeting the half-starved, very angry, four centuries old vampire buried in that tomb."

Elena couldn't help feeling relived to see the honest lack of interest on the girl's face and relaxed.

"Sorry about how I acted earlier, I was rude." She apologised softly.

Caroline huffed in agreement from beside her.

Unexpectedly, Rei scoffed. "I've acted far worse for far less reason, Elena. I can take it."

Smiling at her more naturally than she had all morning, Elena nodded, "Duly noted."

"Are you alright, Rei?" Caroline stepped forward with a concerned frown, "You're heart's racing." She explained worriedly.

Elena looked at their newest acquaintance questioningly only to see her shaking her head.

"Headache," She winced in pain. "I'm just dehydrated, that's all. I'm going to go." She waved at them vaguely and before either of them had time to do anything but call out a quick farewell, Rei had disappeared up the stairs, her two steps at a time pace swift.

Elena listened closely. The moment she could no longer hear footsteps she immediately rounded on Caroline's still concerned face with determination.

"She came to the boarding house the other day?" She demanded hotly. "And she knows what you are, what Stefan is? You guys even told her about Katherine?" Her voice rose as the questions that she'd kept inside spilled out of her.

Caroline blinked at her, startled, "Whoa," She raised her hands defensively. "Seriously? I thought you liked her?"

"I do!" Elena quickly nodded, and it was true. She did genuinely like the British girl. She was different from most of the people she'd ever met, more in tune with herself, more worldly almost. But that didn't mean that she knew enough about her to trust her yet.

"Then let it go." Caroline looked at her seriously, knowing her well enough to understand her concerns without Elena having to verbalise them. "I'll tell you everything later. If I'm going to get to school on time to distract Stefan like you asked me to, I have to get going." She looked at her watch, biting her lip, and glanced towards the stairs.

Elena nodded slowly, somewhat pacified. "Alright, but I want the full update."

Caroline snorted and walked forwards to shift the stone slab blocking the tomb's entrance, "Wouldn't expect anything else, Lena."

…

Rei pushed her legs to walk faster, to put a bigger distance between her and the church ruins.

Merlin, but that was some serious Wiccan magic down there, whoever had cast the spell had been powerful, no doubt about that.

When Bonnie had brought Damon to his knees the other day she hadn't even felt it. When the African American witch had cast the spell to enchant the ash, again, Rei had been silently jumping for joy when she realised that she felt no pain.

It had only taken a moment of thought to figure out why. Unlike witches and wizards who harboured a magical core inside of them, Wiccans did not. They were vessels, their bodies channelled the magic in nature to varying degrees, but they only actually possess magic when they were casting a spell, not like her kind.

Bonnie was clearly untried, her magic untested and inexperienced. But that tomb spell was powerful.

Rei pressed her hands to her forehead, rubbing the skin there soothingly as if it would help ease the ache that had been left behind from her exposure.

At least now she knew for sure. Wiccan magic wasn't as pure, as close to her own kind's magic, the kind that she was most sensitive to, but it did affect her. Thankfully, it looked like she would be able to handle low-level Wiccan magic without a problem.

"Rei! Rei!"

She turned around only blink, startled by a blonde blur. Without warning, a worried looking Caroline was suddenly in front of her.

"Are you alright? You disappeared pretty quick back there?"

Rei couldn't help but smile at the open concern in the newborn's eyes. If there was anything in this town that had really thrown her for a loop, it was Miss Forbes.

In all her readings, in all the countless perspectives from people that she truly respected, nothing had prepared her for a vampire like this. Rei trusted her instincts; she was generally a good judge of character and cautious enough to never gift her trust to someone unless they proved her correct. And everything inside her was telling her that Caroline Forbes was one of the most genuine people she had ever had the pleasure of encountering.

"I'm fine, Caroline," She reassured her with a weary smile.

"You sure?" The blonde pressed.

Rei nodded.

Before the conversation could continue Caroline's phone went off, the blonde staring at the caller's name with obvious trepidation as she let it go to voice mail.

Rei raised an eyebrow, "Dodging someone?"

"Kind of," Caroline admitted guilty, tucking her phone back into her jean pocket.

Rei didn't inquire further, it was none of her business and she hated with a passion when anyone ever presumed to act entitled to her own personal business enough to never do it to others.

"There's um, actually something I wanted to speak with you about," Sky blue eyes focused on Rei, filled with hope. She shifted, uncomfortable. What could she have possibly done to be on the receiving end of such a look? "Rei?" Caroline hedged nervously.

Emerald eyes rolled, "You don't need my permission, Caroline, and I'll tell you if you're out of line, don't worry."

The blonde actually giggled, "I noticed that. You don't seem to have a problem speaking your mind."

"As long as you're not being a bitch about it, I find it's easier sometimes just to be up front."

"Sometimes?" Caroline smirked.

Rei couldn't help grinning; the blonde was much sharper than she pretended to be. "Sometimes it pays to go the more…subtle route, yes?" She raised an eyebrow.

The blonde laughed, her eyes sparkling with appreciation and Rei nodded, happy to have set the vampire more at ease.

"So, what did you want to ask me?"

The blonde immediately looked at the ground and started fiddling with her fingers nervously. "Alaric told us that you know a little about werewolves..., is that true?"

Rei tensed and glanced sharply at her companion. "...Yes."

Caroline breathed out a sigh of relief before looking up to fix her with beseeching eyes.

"My friend, Tyler, he activated the curse two nights ago." Rei drew in a sharp breath. "He knows that I'm a vampire. I know, I know," She said quickly seeing her surprise. "I shouldn't have told him, but…he's so confused." She bit her lip. "He has no idea what's happening to him, what _is_ going to happen to him, and I haven't got anything beyond he's going to turn into an enormous wolf that has the potential to kill me with one bite."

Rei felt a tug at her heart as she listened to Caroline's ramblings, Remus's face flashing to the forefront of her mind, the agony that had twisted his features as he'd been forced to transform every full moon. She didn't want to get involved, she had her own problems, her own concerns, but perhaps…she glanced at Caroline's hopeful face…this she could do. She wouldn't wish the curse of a werewolf on anyone, let alone an unknowing teenage boy.

Rei stopped.

Turning to Caroline, she pierced the blonde with a serious look, the startled blink that greeted her enough to let her know that the vampire was aware of the seriousness of her next words, if not the reason behind it.

"I had a friend that was a werewolf," She stated sadly, ignoring Caroline's gasp as she continued. "I don't have all the answers," There was sure to be differences between Muggle and Magical werewolves and she certainly wouldn't claim to be an expert on the former. "But I did see him transform. I know some things, and if Tyler is as lost as you seem to think he is-"

"He is," Caroline interrupted quickly, her face morphing into an expression that said clearer than words that she had never hoped for such good news as Rei was telling her.

She nodded. "Then I might be able to help…if he wants my help."

Caroline immediately squealed, leaping forward to hug her, "Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!"

Rei smiled, unable to contain it. She gently pushed the young vampire off of her so that she could look in her eyes. "No one can know though." She stated seriously.

Caroline instantly frowned, confused. "Why?"

Rei shook her head, "It's just the way I want things. Talk to Tyler, see what he wants to do and get back to me. But this information stays between us, Caroline." This was non-negotiable and considering the look of solemn realisation that currently dominated the blonde's face, she understood that her condition was immovable all too well.

Without warning, Caroline's face suddenly softened and she pulled Rei into a gentler hug, "Thank-you."

Rei blinked, taken aback by her ready acceptance.

Then the blonde blurred away.

…

Jonas stepped forward, his eyes focused on the staked vampire at their feet.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Yes."

He regarded the powerful vampire in front of him cautiously, not sure whether to say anything to not. Everything in him, everything that he had learned over the years, it all told him not to trust vampires, ever.

"Something on your mind?" Elijah turned around with a single raised eyebrow, his face, like always, absent of any emotions.

If he wanted to get Greta back Elijah needed to know everything, even the things he was loath to impart, just in case it did happen to become pertinent to their goal.

"I met a girl this morning."

"Congratulations," Elijah drawled dryly, turning away from him.

Jonas gritted his teeth together tightly. "Are you aware of the stories about wand wielders?"

The Original bent down to examine the multiple computers, his fingers soon flying across the keyboard as he wiped its memory. "I have been alive for over one thousand years; there is not much that I have not at least heard of." He answered simply.

Jonas looked at Elijah with surprise, "Really? I only know of them because of the sheer amount of grimoires I have managed to collect over the years. A few of them mention their possible existence but even then, they're vague."

Eljiah nodded, clearly only half listening, his mind more focused on his task. "It is to be expected. Witches and Warlocks often wish more to believe that they are the only creatures with the ability to manipulate magic than face the truth. The few that have discovered differently have either been dealt with by those same magic users they would continue to deny, or they have so little useful information as to make future generations wary of believing their vague warnings."

"So it is true?" He pressed, seeking an absolute answer. "They do exist?"

"Is there a point to this conversation, Jonas?" Elijah sighed, irritated.

"One of my grimoire's gave a small example of how these wand wielders felt to us. Whoever wrote it believed that this was our way of differentiating them from the crowd." He explained slowly, hardly believing the words even as he said them.

Elijah nodded, clicking the final few keys to wipe all the information from the computer's hard drive.

"That girl…she's one of them." Jonas finally admitted.

He hadn't believed it when she'd first bumped into him in the street but when he'd offered her his hand all his doubts disappeared. The green eyed beauty that had no compunction in cursing around adults was a wand wielder. And she was powerful.

Elijah turned around slowly, a small frown pulling down his brows, "That is surprising. They don't normally settle in America, and never this far south…What was her name?"

Jonas hesitated, "…Does it matter?"

Elijah smiled at him without humour, impatience clear in his eyes, "Perhaps." Was all he said.

"Rei Potter," He exhaled with defeat. His daughter was more important than any other loyalty he owed.

Elijah's calm facade suddenly morphed into an undeniably shocked expression, "Rei Potter?" He repeated, wanting to make sure he'd heard correctly.

Jonas frowned, there was no way that the same young girl who'd so clumsily ran into him outside the Grill today was known, by name, to someone like Elijah...was there?

"Yes." He nodded.

Elijah abruptly turned away to gaze out the window, a look in his eyes had Jonas' stomach churning with guilt.

"...Interesting."

…

_Ah Elijah, so cool! ;D_


	9. Real Foam & Introductions

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

...

_Thank-you to everyone that reviewed! I've replied to all of you now, I wanted to make sure I did that before I posted the new chapter ;D You're brilliant! Hope you enjoy the update!_

...

"You're kidding?" Jeremy guffawed loudly.

Elena shook her head with a matching grin, "No, he said 'chunky monkey', I swear."

"Well, all I can say is that I'm glad it was you who saw him naked and not me." He didn't even want to imagine how awkward it would have been to bump into his very naked history teacher in the hall in the middle of the night.

Elena snorted into her coffee cup.

Jeremy looked up at the sound of rapid knocking on the front door. Exchanging a surprised look with his sister, he glanced down at his watch to check the time.

"It's barely six thirty," He complained, but nevertheless dragged his body out of the kitchen stool to answer the door.

"I can get it, Jere," Elena said quickly.

Rolling his eyes at his sister's over-protectiveness, he ignored her, shuffling his way down the hall and twisting the door-knob to open it.

His eyebrow's lifted at the sight that greeted him, "Rei?"

The pixie sized, black haired girl shifting impatiently from foot to foot on his porch beamed up at him brightly.

"Jeremy!" She grinned happily, an almost palpable energy surrounding her that made him tired just to look at. "Good Morning," She chirped, and, without another word, invited herself inside.

He blinked.

What the hell?!

Shutting the door behind him, not knowing what else to do, he turned around only to see a take away coffee cup being held up two inches from his nose.

"Coffee?" Rei asked.

Jeremy scowled; that wide eyed stare didn't fool him for a second. Call it younger sibling intuition, but he saw straight through that annoyingly believable innocence to the laughter that was lurking there effortlessly.

"Jere?" He heard his sister call, her voice a little worried. "Who is it?" Before he had the chance to answer, Elena walked through the open doorway, her brown eyes landing on their early morning guest with clear confusion. "Rei, were we expecting you?" Jeremy just shrugged at the look she shot him. Really, how was he supposed to know why she was here?

"No," Rei smiled reassuringly at his sister and Jeremy couldn't help but glare at the back of her head.

Why was she being so polite now? She'd had no problem teasing him just a moment ago. Sure, it had been a silent teasing but…it was six thirty in the morning! Shouldn't she be more considerate?

"Oh," Elena was clearly at a loss for words at the simple denial.

"Coffee?" Rei held up the same cup she'd only just offered him in his sister's direction and he could only watch with shock as Elena's face abruptly softened and she nodded her thanks, reaching out a hand to accept the beverage.

"I thought that was _my_ coffee?" He raised an eyebrow when she turned around to look up at him.

Elena watched them in silence, hiding her smile behind what she quickly realised was a store bought cappuccino.

Rei sighed loudly, as if put upon, "Don't worry little Gilbert, I got you one as well, no need to sulk." And she pulled out a second cup from a tray that he hadn't even noticed she was holding.

Looking down at the offering, he glanced between it and her small smirk of amusement with clear indecision before finally, with a long drawn out sigh; he capitulated.

"I was not sulking," He couldn't help adding as he quickly took the cup. Her answering over-exaggerated nod combined with Elena's snort of laughter not helping his wounded pride in the least.

"So, Rei," His sister smiled, far more invitingly than his stubbornly silent figure. "Not that you're not welcome here but, well, it is early…" And what are you doing here? Jeremy could almost hear the rest of his sister's sentence as her words trailed off.

Rei held up a hand, "One second."

Without explanation or reason, the British girl walked to the bottom of the stairs, grabbed the banister with one hand and leaned down so that she was looking up the stairs at an angle.

"Alaric!" She shouted loudly, startling them both. "Alaric! I know you're up there! I got your message!" She yelled with an impatient air.

Jeremy and Elena looked at each other with baffled looks.

"…Rei?" The shocked voice of Alaric drifted down the stairs, "How-what, I mean…why are you here?!"

Rei drew in a deep breath to yell back, "What do you mean why am I here? I texted you to ask where you were, you said the Gilbert house. What, did you think I was just asking you because I was bored?" Her voice, no matter that it was she that was shouting through a house she hadn't been invited to, was incredulous. "Get up! I need your help with something."

Jeremy took a sip from his coffee, suddenly far more awake than he'd been two minutes ago. Rei was standing at the base of the stairs, her face expectant and her foot tapping impatiently against the floorboards as they all waited for an answer from upstairs.

"…Alright, I'll be down in a minute!" The grumbling response seemed to please the short girl because she abruptly grinned and twirled on the spot to face them.

"Interesting wake up call," He couldn't help but laugh.

She shrugged, unconcerned. "He can't waste the day away with sleeping, there are things to do." She nodded decisively.

In that precise moment, Jeremy couldn't help but think that there was something incredibly adorable and endlessly energetic about Rei Potter that lit her up from the inside, like a small sun was in their hallway.

"Why don't you wait for Rick in here," Elena suggested. "Jere and I can finish our breakfast then."

Her face dropped a little, "Did I interrupt? Sorry, I thought you'd all be up, to be perfectly honest."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and slung an arm around her neck, dragging her forwards and into the kitchen, "Please, you brought us real coffee with real foam, you're my new favourite person."

...

"Elena," Stefan rested his elbows on the counter, staring at his girlfriend seriously. "Bonnie said that she's willing to do the spell to find the stone. If we have the moonstone, render it useless, we can save your life." Didn't she see that?

She nodded slowly, "I know that, Stefan. What I don't understand is how you expect Bonnie to find a stone that Klaus has surely asked other witches to track before. It couldn't possibly be that easy otherwise he never would have lost it in the first place."

He breathed in deeply, "I know that Elena, but you're not giving Bonnie enough credit. She's more powerful than you think. She's a Bennet."

"So?"

Shooting his brother a look, Damon rolled his eyes but nevertheless, stepped forward.

"What my brother is trying to say is that the Bennet line is a very powerful one. Bonnie might be able to do what others haven't been able to in the past. Especially, if it's close by."

Elena didn't look convinced, "Say you're right. Say that Bonnie finds the moonstone, we get it and we even find a way to neutralise the curse. What happens when Klaus gets here to realise that we've permanently destroyed his only way to undo the sun and the moon curse, what then? Do you think he's just going to say, 'damn, oh well, see you later'?!"

Stefan looked down at his clenched fists not wanting his girlfriend to see how truly worried he was that what she saying was correct. That even if they managed to destroy the stone, Klaus would kill them all for having done so.

"Klaus doesn't know where you are, Elena!" His voice pleaded with her to accept this fact, but he could tell from the rebellious look on her face that it was a lost cause. Stefan couldn't blame her, not really. It wasn't as simple as he was trying to convince her it was, and she was smart enough to know that for herself. "Please, Elena," He looked deeply into her brown eyes. "We have to _try._"

And that's what it really came down to, wasn't it? If they did nothing, they had no hope.

"I don't want you to do this," She spoke with finality.

Stefan exhaled loudly, his head falling forward into his hands.

Damon scoffed from behind him, "Too bad, Elena. Judgy already agreed to do whatever it took to help."

…

"My God," Rei turned in her seat to look at a groaning Alaric, "I don't think I have ever been so sore!"

She ignored the glare he was giving her easily.

"Don't be such a baby. She rolled her eyes, turning the corner when the light changed to green.

"I hope you don't think that we'll be doing this every day, Rei." Alaric said in a warning tone, but she detected the current of worry that he was trying to hide with a smirk.

"Why?" Laughing lightly, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Is training with me too exhausting for you, old man?" She teased.

"I can't believe that you talked me into this," He groaned at the reminder.

He'd still been half asleep and in the process of putting on his jacket when he'd finally trudged down the Gilbert's stairs this morning. Rei hadn't wasted a moment. As soon as she caught sight of the yawning man she was out of her seat and pushing him out the front door, paying no attention to his protests as she did so. With a wave goodbye, a quick, 'I need to borrow your boyfriend' and a smiling holler over her shoulder that she'd left a coffee on the kitchen counter for her to a confused, but no less amused looking Jenna, they were off.

To say that Alaric was stunned when she'd informed him that they were going to practice self defence techniques would be generous. As soon as her words had fully registered in his mind he was a spluttered mess of denials and hesitation. It was only her assurance that she had some background skills already and the reminder of Damon's non-too subtle threat the other day that had finally convinced him.

She smirked when she saw him touch the bridge of his nose gently, only to flinch away a second later. He'd quickly realised that her description of having some background in self defence was more than true.

"You fight dirty," Alaric glared at her, catching the curl of her lips.

"Fight dirty?" Rei echoed. "What, you want me to give the other guy a fair chance of beating me in a life or death situation?" She raised an incredulous eyebrow at him.

His brown eyes widened, "No!" He shook his head quickly. "I just meant-! Ugh, never-mind."

"I've never had formal training before," She explained more gently, understanding that he didn't really mean anything by it. "I do the things that work and normally, tripping, misdirection and dodging, works." Rei shrugged, a little self-consciously.

It was true. She wasn't defenceless without her wand, she'd spend too many years living as a muggle for that to be the case, and she'd spent far too long with the knowledge that you could always lose your wand in a fight to have not become imaginative in her physical self-defence strategies.

Still, "That's why I thought it would be a great idea to spar and train together?" Rei said hopefully, knowing full well that he'd simply humoured her this morning and the decision to make this a regular thing or not would happen now.

Alaric rolled his eyes, "Don't look so stressed, Rei. I wasn't sure before, but as soon as you managed to knock me on my ass for the third time in less than ten minutes, I was sold on the idea."

"Really?" She beamed at him brightly, pulling into the school parking lot and swivelling to look the man face on. "Brilliant!"

He chuckled at her obvious enthusiasm, but really, he had no idea how much she appreciated this agreement. This morning had been more than enough time to figure out that Alaric had just as much to teach her as she did him. He wasn't the only on that had hit the ground. Plus, it gave her something productive to actually do with her time.

"I'm actually glad in a way," He admitted to her, gathering his briefcase of books together as he got ready to leave.

They'd stopped by his apartment to get the things he needed for school after training, since she'd practically forced him into her car without giving him any time to gather the material he'd left at the Gilbert's the night before.

"I was having trouble finding a reason, or even time, to practice all by myself."

"Makes me feel a little bit less of a bully in that case," She grinned. He gave her a wry look. "Anyway, how come you didn't tell me that you had a room set up in your apartment for training?"

With mats in which to spare on, three dummy's for target practise and a few weights around the place, Rei had quickly announced that this was a much better place to train than her back garden.

"You didn't give me a chance," He grinned at her, opening the car door.

She coughed sheepishly before fixing him with a small glare, "How was I supposed to know that all Americans apparently hate the morning sunlight?" All he did was give her a two fingered salute as he shut the door.

As Rei turned the key in the ignition, her eyes instinctively followed Alaric's figure as he walked across the grounds teaming with students. As soon as she saw him disappear inside, she turned her neck to check if there were any cars coming, about to reverse. A sharp pain across her eyes stopped her.

Clenching her teeth together tightly, Rei narrowed her eyes when autumn leaves suddenly flew past her, kicked up by the same sudden, strong gusts of wind that were battering against the doors of her car. Looking in the direction that most of the commotion was coming from, Rei sucked in a breath when the sharp pain suddenly spiked as the sky darkened and the magic in the air strengthened.

That's when she noticed them.

Standing opposite each other, between an avenue of bare limbed trees, were two Wiccans. Bonnie Bennet and a male warlock she hadn't been informed about.

In silence, her body absolutely still, Rei watched the pair from her place inside the car, watched as the two teenagers broke apart, laughing together with wonderment and awe.

She bit her lip, hard.

It wasn't in her to resent the two Wiccan's enjoyment in their magic, especially not for the petty, selfish reason that her own was out of reach.

But it hurt.

She loved the feeling of magic rushing through her body, eager to please, eager to battle, eager to perform and make reality her every direction.

Rei blinked away the thin sheen of tears obscuring her vision, angry at herself.

She despised useless self pity, in herself even more than in others. Forcing her thoughts back, Rei watched with interest as Jeremy Gilbert approached the pair, smiled at the look he was giving Bonnie and caught the small exchange between them as the witch looked down at her phone with a frown. She raised an eyebrow when the two deliberately turned away from the school's entrance despite the bell that had just rung, and headed towards the car-park at a brisk pace.

Feeling nothing more than mild curiousity, Rei turned in her seat to glance out the back window and reversed her car.

Pulling out onto the street, her mind swiftly dismissed any thoughts concerning the residents of Mystic Falls, far too preoccupied with thinking about her airy attic and the magic she was determined to master today.

…

Caroline watched Tyler descend the stairs to the old Lockwood slave quarters, feeling conflicted.

She hated lying to him, but what else was she supposed to do? She couldn't just tell him about everything that was going on. Stefan had been angry enough when she told him that Tyler knew what she was. Even the_ thought_ of how Damon might react to the information was enough to send a shiver of dread down her spine.

No, it was safer for Tyler if he remained ignorant, no matter how guilty her constant half truths made her feel.

Following him slowly, she made sure to watch where she put her feet, internally cursing herself for her lack of sensible shoe choice when her tall heel slipped on the moss and she almost fell, quite a feat when one was a vampire.

"This is where you think your Uncle came to change?" She asked softly, peering through the darkness at the space surrounding her. Not exactly welcoming, she thought, eyeing the puddles of water and the damp smell in the air with distaste.

"Yeah," She saw Tyler nodding in the darkness without any trouble, her enhanced eyesight more than up to the task. "It makes sense. Plus, I followed him here before he…"

Caroline avoided eye contact as he trailed off, her stomach lurching at the reminder of her part in Mason's death and how she was lying about it to his nephew even now.

She cleared her throat, "Are you sure that you want to do it here?" Caroline asked tentatively.

He frowned at her, "Where else would you suggest?" Tyler spread his arms wide.

God, she really should have thought this through. When Rei and said that she'd help, Caroline had been filled with the biggest sense of relief. Finally, someone that had some real life experience, that could tell Tyler what to expect.

It was only in the hours that had followed that she realised her mistake.

If she told Tyler that Rei would help him with his transformation she'd have to reveal that not only had she lied about nobody else knowing about what she was, but that she'd revealed his secret without his approval or knowledge.

God, how did she always put herself in these kinds of situations? She only ever wanted to do the right thing but it never seemed to work out that way.

Caroline shrugged in answer, not yet having mustered the courage necessary to go through the inevitable blow up with Tyler. "I don't know," She murmured quietly, her blue eyes catching on the deep claw marks that had been scratched into the stone beside her.

"Exactly," Tyler frowned, carding his hand through his dark hair restlessly, his eyes distressed.

…

"Give me your hand," Jonas instructed Elijah over the small table, reaching out his own to the vampire.

The Original raised an eyebrow at him but, nonetheless, obliged.

"This will tell me where the doppelganger is?" The smooth, cultured tone bore no signs of stress or impatience, as if he had all the time in the world.

Jonas gave a curt nod, "Yes, you'll be able to see her as if you were right there beside her." He explained tensely.

Bowing his head, he began the chant he had memorised, the words flowing from his mouth confidently, without error. The second he was done, Jonas quickly dropped the vampire's hand and if Elijah was offended by his action, he never showed it. Instead, there was a satisfied light in his brown orbs that told the warlock all he needed to know, the spell had been successful.

"You know where she is?" He couldn't help but check, this was far too important to leave to simple impressions.

Elijah rolled his crisp white shirt back down, expertly buttoning the cuffs before rising from his chair. "Indeed," he murmured softly, absently.

"To lure Klaus here we need more than the girl," He reminded the vampire carefully. "The doppelganger will mean nothing to him unless he also has the moonstone."

"I'm well aware of what is needed to break the curse, Jonas." Elijah's words might have seemed mild but the unspoken caution in his tone was enough to remind him that this was not a vampire that forgot details.

"Then you have a plan to find it?" His daughter's precarious situation giving him the push he needed to question his ally further, however unadvisable.

Brown eyes locked on his own black orbs, holding him in a deep, ageless stare. "I do," Was all Elijah said.

"Perhaps I might be able to assist you?" A warlock offering help to a vampire without threat or even the request, it seemed surreal to him.

"For the last four hundred years not one lead as to the moonstone's location ever appeared. Under my compulsion, Miss Gilbert revealed that the stone was recently in Mystic Falls. In fact, it's precise location was known to more than a few not even a fortnight ago. I expect it to be in my possession soon, it is simply a case of tracking it down." There was no unnecessary boasting in Elijah's demeanour just absolute confidence in the truth of his claim.

Despite himself, Jonas found himself nodding.

…

Caroline stared at the laptop screen with undisguised horror.

"How far into this are we?" She breathed, a part of her not wanting to ask, not wanting to do anything to increase that terrified look in Tyler's eyes with the answer, but the bigger part of her needed to know.

"Three hours," Tyler reached forward to fast forward the video, Mason's agonised screams and face the only thing that dominated the picture. "…Four hours, five-" His voice broke on the last word and he abruptly pushed himself off the couch.

Caroline couldn't pull her eyes away from his face. She'd known Tyler since they were children and she'd never seen him look so…lost. Lost and terrified of something he was quickly learning he couldn't outrun.

"Whatever that was, Caroline," He pointed at the computer, his face twisting into an expression of such horrified dread that she desperately wanted to reach out, to somehow soothe his panic. But how? How on Earth could he ever be okay with…that? "I can't do that." Tyler denied brokenly, as if he already knew the words wouldn't help. "I can't go through that."

Caroline couldn't force any words to materialise; she didn't know what to say, what to do that would make this right. Unable to stand looking into his tortured eyes any longer, her own sky blue one's dropped down, unintentionally coming to rest on the black screen of her phone.

And suddenly, she knew exactly what to do.

All her reasons from before suddenly felt so frivolous, so selfish under the weight of reality. Knowing what he was going to have to go through in some small way through Mason's recordings and journal, the frightened devastation in his eyes that had only grown stronger the more she had read and the longer they had watched and listened to his Uncle's screams…that she had even put off telling him for this long seemed an unforgiving evil in the face of reality.

"Tyler," She whispered, but he heard. "I have to tell you something," Caroline cleared her throat, working past her own nerves. All it took was one look at his scared face and the words started flowing from her. "I know someone…someone that can help you with all of this." She gestured uselessly towards the laptop and journal on the coffee table in explanation.

Tyler frowned deeply, not understanding. His eyes telling her that he was at the end of his rope, that he simply didn't have the energy for her to draw this out.

Caroline stood up slowly, "I know that I told you that no-one knows about me, about what I am...but, I lied." She admitted softly. All he did was stare at her, utterly silent, his face blank. She swallowed. "I only just met her. She already knew about vampires," Caroline glanced up at him. "…And werewolves."

Tyler suddenly staggered forward; grabbing her elbows tightly, his face desperate. "She knew?"

Caroline nodded rapidly, "Yeah, I was as surprised as you were. But then, I started wondering," Her voice trembled a bit, "How did she know? I hoped, Tyler, prayed that maybe she'd met someone like you." Her eyes were earnest, pleading with him to believe that she hadn't given up his secret lightly. "We were both so lost, we didn't know what to expect, so-"

"You asked her?" He demanded.

She nodded miserably.

"What did she say?!" Tyler shook her roughly, "What did she say Caroline!" He was angry, furious even, but behind that she saw in him exactly what she had felt herself when Rei finally admitted her knowledge.

Hope. And that outweighed everything else at the moment.

Caroline twisted her arms so that she could grip his elbows in return; she squeezed the tense muscles there comfortingly.

Taking a deep breath, the smile on her face was incapable of being suppressed. "She said she'd help, Ty." Caroline spoke the words slowly, clearly, wanting him to understand _exactly _what she was saying. "She said that she would help you."

…

Bonnie looked down at the map and scowled.

"Anything?" Jeremy asked.

"No," She admitted bitterly.

She could practically hear the disappointment from those around her.

"Damn," Damon snapped, his face a mask of anger.

She looked down, the guilt at her failure rushing through her.

"It's not her fault," Jeremy barked in her defence, and she felt ridiculously grateful for his words in that moment. "You were asking her to find something that even Klaus hasn't managed to find, what did you expect would happen?"

"You're right." Stefan straightened up from his place on the couch in front of the fire, "I'm sorry, Bonnie."

Hands tightening into fists around the map's edges, Bonnie looked down at the dog-tags that rested so innocently on the table beside her. Slowly, even knowing she shouldn't, that she had no right, her fingers stretched out and dragged Luka's talisman into her palm.

She looked up at her audience with determination blazing brightly in her hazel-green eyes. "Let me try again."

"Bonnie, no-!" Jeremy started forward, a worried look on his face, but she paid him no mind.

The exhaustion that had seemed so deeply entrenched in her bones suddenly vanished as Luka's power poured into her. Closing her eyes, she dived back into the spell, murmuring the words, willing it to work, all the while trailing her fingers nervously over the dog-tags she held so tightly in her hand.

…

At the sound of a car pulling up outside her house, Rei glanced up from her novel. The distinct sound of tires on pebbles had been an unexpected security she'd been pleased to discover, one that she knew would come in handy in the future.

Marking her place, she placed the book beside her on the couch and stood up, walking towards the door. She could hear their approaching voices through the wood and couldn't help but listen, old habits die hard apparently.

_"…She won't tell anyone!"_

_"How do you know? I thought you wouldn't tell anyone, either."_

_"So, what? You wish I hadn't? Is that it, Tyler?"_

_"I don't know, Caroline!"_

_"You can trust her."_

_"How do you know? You said so yourself, you've just met her!"_

_"I-I just know, Ty."_

Rei shook her head with silent disbelief, Miss Forbes was not like any vampire she'd ever heard of, she was so…innocent. Pulling open the front door, she took in the surprised faces that snapped towards her with a raised eyebrow.

The pair was standing opposite each other, clearly having abandoned their walk to her door in favour of arguing with each other.

"Aren't you going to come in?" She asked, leaning against the doorframe with a casualness that was in no way mimicked by the stressed two she was regarding.

Caroline's eyes widened at her silent show of trust, and Rei noted the happiness that flashed across sky blue orbs with more pleasure than she thought she'd feel.

"Thanks Rei," The blonde smiled tiredly before taking Tyler by the elbow and pulling him inside.

She shut the door behind them.

Already having decided that it would be best to jump straight into things, she gestured for them both to follow her through the house, using the time to discreetly observe the newly turned werewolf for herself.

He looked...restless.

"You alright, Tyler?" Rei made sure both her words and tone were informal, hoping it might ease some of his discomfort.

"Guess it depends on what your definition of 'alight' is," He replied tightly.

She sighed, she'd expected some measure of distrust from him, especially if Caroline was indeed correct and he had no information about the change.

"Well," Rei drew the word out as she bent down to pull up the dead bolt at the base of one of her floor to ceiling glass panels, pulling it open. "I haven't heard about any fights that the Mayor's son has gotten into recently, that's something."

"What do you mean?" He immediately demanded, in a way that told her she'd accidently hit a nerve.

"I just meant that werewolves find it difficult at the best of times to control their temper this close to the full moon. And that's true for the ones that have been turning for years and know what to expect. That you've managed to control yourself as well as you have is something you should feel proud of." He didn't look persuaded, but at the same time she saw the interest in his eyes at the evidence of her knowledge, and smiled gently. "Come on, I want to show you something." Rei stepped outside, crossing her deck. "I don't know what Caroline told you-"

"Don't worry," The blonde interrupted quickly, "I told him that you wanted it kept a secret," She said seriously.

Rei chuckled, walking down the five steps until her feet hit soft grass. "Thank-you Caroline, I appreciate that. I was actually asking if you told Tyler that I don't know everything." She didn't want to give them the wrong impression. She'd never met a muggle werewolf before; all that she told them would be based off her world's lycanthropes.

Tyler came up to her side, exhaling loudly, "She did tell me," He admitted softly and Rei couldn't help glancing up at him, surprised by the vulnerable emotion he'd exposed. "But," He looked at her hopefully, "Caroline did say that you knew someone? Someone…like me?"

Remus's gentle, weathered face floated across her mind's eye and she had to clear her throat, taking the moment to push back the rush of memories. This wasn't about her.

"I did," Rei nodded slowly.

They were all walking slowly across the lawn now, Tyler in between the two of them as Caroline's curious eyes blinked at her from around him.

Some of the tension seemed to leave him at her assurance, and that's when the questions that she'd been expecting started to fall from his lips. "You said that my emotions are hard to control near the full moon?" He asked, seeking clarification.

"Yes, the closer you are to the time of your change, the closer to the surface your inner wolf." Rei stated the fact with a nod.

He frowned, "Inner wolf?"

"You're not a werewolf one night a month, Tyler. The wolf is a part of you now. A part that is always there. Those few hours that that part of you has control is when you transform. Even so, haven't you noticed changes? As you are right now you should be faster, stronger, more agile."

She saw him glance at a quiet Caroline, "Yeah, I have."

"Vampires are stronger than wolves," She informed them, though she had a feeling that they both already knew this fact. The awkward way they both abruptly broke eye contact was enough to tell her that she was right in her theory.

Tyler breathed in deeply, withdrawing a book from his pocket and holding it out to her silently. Rei frowned down at the worn pages but, all the same, took the offering. The pages fell open and her emerald eyes took in the words quickly.

_"I thought I'd pass out. I should have passed out. It would have been easier, the pain was such that I should have…but I never did."_

_"…I was awake for all of it, for every broken bone, every agonising minute; there was no way to escape the pain."_

_"It was the worst night of my life."_

Rei closed the book with a snap.

"How am I supposed to prepare for that?" Tyler demanded harshly. "My Uncle spent hours, every month, in unimaginable pain. How am I supposed to go through life without dreading the passing of every day knowing that it brings me closer to that?!"

Rei stopped.

Spinning on her heel, she moved so that she was directly in front of him.

"I am not, for one moment, pretending that your life hasn't changed. It has. What happened to you is a tragedy, Tyler. It's awful and it's scary, I know that. But I also know that you can't change it. No matter how much you might want to, you can't." She whispered the last word with untold sadness in her eyes, the memory of Remus's premature grey hair, slumped shoulders and ugly scars pulling at her heart.

Tyler stared at her, his eyes glassy, his mouth thin from the effort to hold in his emotions.

Great Merlin, but sometimes she hated the world.

"It's not fair," He finally croaked.

From the corner of her eye Rei could see an anxious Caroline ringing her hands with obvious distress.

"No, it's not." The fact that she wasn't trying to make it sound better than it was seemed to surprise Tyler. But she'd never be able to do something so cruel. "I can try to answer any questions you might have." Rei said softly. "I will try and help you with your transformation and I can be here for you." The young man just stared at her in silence. "If you want me to."

"And me, Ty," Caroline piped up, her sky blue orbs filled with tears. "I'm here you for you as well."

She saw him swallow, saw the muscles in his throat working, and felt a fierce relief when he finally nodded and said, "What did you want to show us?"

Rei inhaled deeply, trying to settle her emotions. A calm, composed attitude would help Tyler the most right now. He didn't need useless sympathy; he needed answers and a plan. She could give him that.

"My friend, the one I told you was a werewolf," She began, resuming her trek across her large lawn and into the trees. "He was turned very young. By the time I knew him and saw him change, he'd been through at least two decades of transformations."

"Wow," Caroline breathed, both impressed and horrified at the same time. "Where is he now?"

Rei stumbled, not having expected the question, Tyler caught her.

"You okay?" He asked, his forehead wrinkled.

Caroline's face, despite not knowing the reason why, held a look of remorse that Rei was quick to wave aside. Merlin knows, it wasn't her fault.

"He died recently," She spoke softly, tugging gently out of Tyler's hold and continuing on through the trees towards their destination.

Tyler's head snapped up, "From-?"

"No," She shook her head. "Being a werewolf didn't kill him." But at the back of her mind, she scoffed. The memory of how he'd laid there, silver knife sticking out of his chest, dead grey eyes staring up at her unseeingly and thought, that was exactly what killed him.

"There's no way to minimise the pain? To knock me out?" Tyler questioned with hopeful eyes.

Rei sighed, "Not that I know of. With the wolf being close to the surface, any sedatives that you inject yourself with are burned up quickly in your system. The wolf wants to get out. It wants to roam free and hunt. You're not a monster Tyler, neither is your wolf. But it is a predator, and a lethal one at that."

A small house began to take shape in front of them, the trees thinning out around them, evidence of the long-time logging that had occurred in this area.

For the first time really, Caroline spoke up, "He won't have any control when he's a wolf then?" She asked, flashing an apologetic look at the boy walking beside her.

"No, he won't. Which is why, most of your kind spend limitless energy and time working out a way to make sure they won't accidentally hurt someone."

Tyler was nodding as she talked, "My family has an old estate. I was thinking I could go there. I'm going to the hardware store tomorrow to get chains that can…well," He shrugged uncomfortably.

"Good thinking," She complimented, both genuinely surprised that he'd managed to think that far ahead through his panic, and also because he needed to know that she wasn't just running rough-shod over his plans. "But I think I can help better that plan."

Rei smiled at him warmly and pointed towards the cottage that they'd finally reached.

"Um," Tyler glanced down at a surprised looking Caroline before shifting his gaze to Rei. "You want me to change here? I'm not sure-I mean, there are windows here. Is that really going to be enough-?"

"Calm down," She laughed softly, even though nothing about this situation was funny. "When Caroline told me about you yesterday I went and got some supplies and a dozen few workmen. You'd be surprised what money can get done for you in such a short amount of time."

Rei approached the simple wooden door, extracting a key from her pocket as she went. Twisting her wrist, she heard the tell-tale click of the lock and pushed against the wood, stepping inside.

"You can come in, Caroline," She invited without turning around.

Crossing a small kitchen and living area, she pulled open a second door on the other side of the room; this one solid and sturdy in appearance. Rei immediately turned around to watch Tyler's reaction as he stepped hesitantly over the threshold, hoping that in some small way, this might help ease some of his fear and dread at what was coming.

Caroline gasped loudly. Turning in a full circle, her wide blue eyes took in the enormous room that Rei had had specially built onto the back of the cottage, her mouth open. "So much better than the wet, musty Lockwood cellar, that's for sure," The blonde whistled approvingly.

While she gnawed on her bottom lip nervously, emerald eyes watched Tyler as the young man, looking at a loss for words, took in every inch of the modern, fortified structure in absolute silence.

Light brown eyes suddenly landed on her, holding her with the intensity of his gaze.

"...Thank-you."

…

"I killed you, you're dead." Damon stated with far more confidence and bravado than he felt entitled to. It wasn't everyday that a vampire came back from the dead, or un-dead, as it were.

"For centuries now," Elijah spoke without inflection, his eyes almost bored as they regarded him.

Damon clenched his jaw against the aching fury that sparked in him as Rose blurred away, leaving them behind in her flee for safety.

"...We were going to bring her to you. For Klaus. He would want to see her."

He watched everything closely, knowing that the strike would come hard and fast and if he wanted to live through this and get Elena to safety, he needed to see it coming.

"Does anyone know you're here?"

"No."

For the first time, Damon saw an expression on that chillingly blank face. Elijah smile. "Then you have been extremely helpful."

Without warning, he reached forward and plunged a hand into each vampire's chest, ripping their hearts free of their now destroyed rib cages with an ease that was, frankly, disturbing.

When Elijah's gaze drifted towards Elena, Damon's pulse picked up speed and he deliberately stepped forward, cutting off his line of sight. The vampire's lips pulled up in the barest hint of a smirk, his eyes flashing with an amusement that Damon couldn't place.

Without another word, he was gone.

No explanation, no threat, no revenge, he simply left.

Damon could hear Elena's heartbeat slowing, the instinctive human response whenever the danger had passed. Ice blue eyes never left the empty doorway, the muscles in his shoulders remaining tense and hard.

"Damon?" Elena called softly, not knowing why he wasn't doing anything, wasn't saying anything.

And he couldn't tell her why; he didn't want to frighten her, despite her suicidal actions today.

Because when those brown eyes had looked at him, sparing him a second's worth of attention, Damon had glimpsed something; something he recognised, something he was intimately familiar with.

It was the look of someone that had nothing to fear. A confidence that was only achieved when you knew, beyond any doubt, that you were superior.

He swallowed past the lump in his throat with difficulty. Exactly how powerful was Elijah? Because Damon knew from experience that that particular confidence couldn't be feigned. It wasn't based on ego or malice, but fact. It was the same look he wore, the same way he felt, when he was hunting.

Hunting a meal.

To see it directed towards him was…

"…We need to go."

…

_(GRIN) Things are heating up, aren't they? _


	10. Klaus Isn't Everyone

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

Caroline tried to avoid Stefan's eyes as best she could as she put the finishing touches on her make-up.

"Do you really think that's safe?" He asked her gently, a reproachful look in his eyes.

"It's out of the way, what else can he do?" She said a little more sharply than necessary. Seeing Stefan's surprised look in the mirror, she cringed. "Tyler's doing the best he can. He thinks that the old Lockwood property is…the best," She finished quietly, feeling horrible for lying.

But Rei had only had one condition for helping, and that was their silence, she couldn't go back on her word. She just couldn't. The black haired girl had already done so much to help and she'd seen how much it meant to Tyler. He was still freaked about tonight's full moon but he had a plan, one that he believed in. And that was all because of Rei Potter.

"Fine, but you can't stay with him for the whole transformation," Stefan ordered.

Caroline's lips tightened at the demand and she suddenly swivelled around on her vanity seat to look at him straight on, "Does Damon know about this?"

"Yes," He looked at her pointedly, "Be thankful that I convinced him that I should be the one to talk to you, Caroline."

She glared at him hotly, hating that he'd throw her dislike and fear of Damon's company in her face like that. He didn't know what it was like, no one did. Waking up in the hospital, flashes of memories coming back to her of being bitten, fed on, ordered around by the raven haired vampire…even in bed. She abruptly stood up, pushing the horrible memories back into the recesses of her mind, striding towards her closet.

"I'm not leaving him, Stefan," Caroline stated flatly, she wouldn't be moved on this.

The younger Salvatore brother uncrossed his arms with a sigh of exasperation that she endeavoured to ignore. He didn't understand. Rei had set up the whole thing so that she could be with Tyler until the very last moment before retreating to the small, original sitting area to wait for him to change back.

"He could kill you, Caroline." Stefan's wasn't yelling but his voice was deeper than normal, like he was trying to control his temper. "One bite, that's all it takes."

She swung the scarf around her neck, "We don't know that for sure though, do we?" She challenged, looking at him. "That's just a rumour."

"Those types of rumours aren't normally based on nothing," He breathed out, pushing a hand through his hair. "Just be careful, alright?"

Caroline turned around, grabbing her bag. "I always am," She smiled sunnily. "Where are you headed?" She asked as they walked out of the house and towards her car.

"I'm going to go talk to Katherine," She looked at him sharply at those words. "If what she told Elena is the truth she's been running from Klaus for centuries, she might be able to find him." Stefan explained.

"Does Elena know what you're planning to do today?" Even as she asked she already knew that her friend didn't. There was no way that Elena would let Stefan within three hundred feet of her ancestor if she could help it.

Caroline glanced at the vampire beside her in silent thought. It seemed strange to think that the cold, calculating vampire that had killed her was in love with her friend's boyfriend. She'd told them all so many lies that they'd all learned to take what she had to say with a grain of salt, but still, she wondered if perhaps her love for the younger Salvatore brother was, in fact, true.

"No," Stefan stated shortly, "And I'd prefer it if you didn't tell her in any case."

Blue eyes rolled, Caroline couldn't help it. She'd never kept so many different secrets from so many people at once before, it was exhausting.

"Consider me warned," She said dryly.

…

Rei looked up at the call of her name to see a smiling Bonnie Bennet jogging her way over to her.

"Hey, on your way to the Grill?"

She looked over at the witch with a small frown, "Yes, and it's annoying that you know that."

Bonnie laughed lightly. "Mystic Falls doesn't really have a lot of other attractions," She admitted sheepishly. "Speaking of that, I was wondering what you're planning to do with all your free time. Without school and the events that are always thrown here there isn't really anything to do."

Rei sighed, kicking a stone with her plain black stiletto, "There are a few projects that I want to do at home that will take up quite a bit of my time."

She thought of the half burned mannequin in her attic with a smile. It wasn't anything like the walls of fire she'd been able to conjure since her fourth year, but it was definitely progress. She'd even had to use the little fire extinguisher she'd purchased in her enthusiasm to put out the lingering flames that had been licking at the fashion stand's material.

Bonnie looked at her with interest, "Like what?"

The lie came all too easily, "Painting, organising, cooking…all those things that you never have time for, you know?"

"Sounds nice," She groaned with exaggerated envy.

Rei smiled, stepping around the elderly couple that were walking against them politely. "I do have to admit though; I didn't think I'd be this stuck for something to do when I want to get out of the house." And wasn't that the truth?

"Well," Bonnie looked ahead of them silently, a thoughtful frown on her face as they entered the town square. "Do you like volunteer work? Mrs Lockwood's always looking for helpers to set up town events."

Rei's mind immediately flashed back to childhood memories of her Aunt Petunia gossiping with the other housewives in their neighbourhood under the guise of charity event planning, and grimaced.

"Yeah, I don't think so."

At her honest look of distaste Bonnie's lip's twitched with amusement. "Don't let Caroline hear you say that, she loves bossing everyone around when she's in charge of the event planning."

"You're kidding," She scoffed, not believing it.

"Nope." The witch was grinning now.

Rei looked at her, "A vampire party planner is that what you're telling me?" She raised an incredulous eyebrow.

Bonnie laughed, giving a helpless shrug as if to say, 'what can you do? That's Caroline.'

She shook her head with a grin, feeling a sudden overwhelming desire to tell Mad-Eye that she'd met a vampire who thrived on social events in all her social butterfly glory. Reality hit her almost immediately and her heart constricted at the quick realisation that that wasn't possible anymore.

A warm hand on her arm distracted her, pulling her from her thoughts, "You okay?" Bonnie's concerned expression invaded her vision.

Rei reacted without thinking, flashing a blinding smile. "Of course, I was just thinking that it's nice that her vampirism hasn't changed Caroline too much." She didn't even need to look at her to know that Bonnie was nodding in happy agreement, completely believing her words.

As she'd grown older, Rei had worried that her tendency to hide her emotions and even portray something false to those around her when it suited, was one of those scary similarities she shared with Tom Riddle. She wasn't stupid. Everyone hid what they were feeling from the world. It wasn't even the fact that she sometimes manipulated people with the skill.

What scared her was how good at it she was.

She could still remember the knowing glint in Sirius's sunken eyes when she'd voiced her fears to him in fifth year, the spark of humour and genuine affection that had momentarily chased away the shadows of Azkaban from his face.

He'd laughed.

With delight, Sirius had explained the miraculous things he'd seen her Father pull off with the same ability. Apparently, the Potter family was famous for their ability to charm others. Charisma, her Godfather has said, was as ingrained in her bloodline as beauty was in the Blacks.

"I'm sure I'll find something to occupy my time with," Rei waved the topic away as they crossed the road. "Where are you headed anyway?"

Bonnie's face suddenly dropped, "I need to go apologise to someone," She muttered, shifting guiltily. "I'm dreading it actually, but it was my fault and I have to…" She trailed off, fiddling with something that Rei realised a second later were dog-tags.

She nodded slowly, "Well, if you want to put it off for a little longer do you want to get lunch with me? You can point out the things that are edible on the menu since I've yet to order something that I've enjoyed here yet."

After a long moment of indecision Bonnie finally smiled, "Alright."

Rei laughed, "Procrastination all the way, huh?" Weaving an arm around the witch's elbow she tugged her inside. "Booth or table?" She asked, looking around the busy restaurant, ignoring the many pairs of eyes that had focused on her as soon as she stepped through the door.

"Do you often get this much attention?" Bonnie leaned into her and lowered her voice to avoid being overheard. "I'm best friends with Elena Gilbert and I don't think even she makes this much of an impact on the male real-estate when she walks into a room." The witch giggled.

Rei rolled her eyes thinking of the gaping jaws of countless witches and wizards she'd met over the years.

"Ignore them," Was all she said, spotting a familiar blonde head of hair. "Matt!" She called, waving her arm in the air to get his attention when he turned around.

"You know Matt?" Bonnie asked.

Rei didn't bother replying as the very man suddenly appeared in front of them. "Hey Rei, Bonnie," He smiled at them gently. "Looking for a space?"

"Uh huh," She nodded. "Anything available?"

"There," Bonnie pointed to a small table that had just opened up.

Seeing a group of teenage boys approaching _her _spot, Rei quickly uncurled her arm from Bonnie's and jogged forward. Expertly sliding past them, she managed to sit herself down in one of the chairs, successfully claiming the spot for herself. When the group of disappointed guys all seemed to groan simultaneously, she laughed.

"Tough luck, boys," Rei teased, giving them a winning smile.

"Off you go," Bonnie suddenly appeared, making a shooing gesture with her hands as she slid into one of the vacant chairs with a grin. "Quick thinking," The witch complimented her as soon as the group left.

"You learn a thing or two when you attend boarding school," Rei shrugged with a smile, picking up a menu only to have it plucked out of her hands a second later. "Wha-?"

"You wanted to know what to order, didn't you?" Bonnie looked at her pointedly before looking up at an amused Matt who had followed them. "Two Caesar salads and a side of chips to share, please."

Rei huffed, folding her arms. "You didn't need to snatch my menu away from me," She complained. Seriously, who did that?!

Bonnie shrugged, ignoring her comment easily.

Deciding to let it go, she looked up at a grinning Matt that was writing down their orders on his waiter's pad, "Busy shift?"

"Yeah, but that means more tips so I'm not complaining."

Bonnie suddenly coughed, "Are you mad at Caroline, Matt?"

Rei's eyes snapped towards the dark skinned girl in surprise. Elena had said something about the blonde boy breaking up with his girlfriend recently but she hadn't realised that it was Caroline. She looked down at the table with a small frown. Another vampire/human romantic relationship? She didn't understand…what was the appeal?

For the vampire, they were looking at a maximum of sixty years with the person if they didn't change them and then decades of loss and loneliness when they inevitably died. Who would willingly suffer that? As for the human individual they would spend their life in a never ending tug of war between their world and the supernatural. Always weak, always a liability and…Rei closed her eyes…this is why such relationships were frowned upon, the reason they were so rare. It didn't work unless someone was willing to change their life entirely for the other.

"I'll get your food," Matt pretended he didn't hear, backing away hastily as the witch followed his retreat with her eyes.

"So," Rei searched her mind for a change of topic. "That was some magic I saw you perform at the school yesterday."

Bonnie startled, straightening in her chair, "You saw that?"

"Yeah. It was impressive too; I didn't know that you had that kind of power." But that was more because of her world's wilful ignorance than anything else.

"I don't," Bonnie leaned forward, her eyes excited at the chance to talk about her experience with someone. "I was channelling another person, a warlock. He's actually the guy I need to go speak to after this," She explained quickly, eager to continue her story. "He showed me that my kind can share power with each other through talismans-" She abruptly cut herself off, her face a bit panicked.

Rei frowned, "You alright?"

What Bonnie was telling her was really interesting, fascinating actually. Her kind could never share power, not even twins. Your magic was yours and yours alone, it would never obey another.

"I shouldn't have told you that," Bonnie muttered. "I only _just_ told Elena…" Shaking her head as if internally reprimanding herself for being careless.

She knew that a lot of people would be insulted in her situation, but Rei's interest was pure intellectual curiosity, nothing more. She simply didn't care enough to take offence.

Rei shrugged, taking a sip of her water. "Fine, I'll forget that I heard anything."

Her blasé reaction didn't seem to sit well with the girl opposite her. "You can't just-It doesn't work that way!"

"Sure it does," She denied with a careless wave. "Watch," She ordered her tone playful. "You did magic at the school yesterday?" Rei gasped dramatically. "Did I see it? No, of course not! I have no idea what you're talking about." She got the distinct impression that Bonnie Bennet took life very seriously and couldn't help the urge to trivialise the situation. "There, all better." She smiled cheekily.

Before the witch could do anything more than stare, appalled by her attitude, they were interrupted.

"Your salads," Matt placed both dishes down in front of them, flashing Rei a quick smile of amusement when her stomach let out a growl of hunger before leaving to take another table's order.

"You confuse me," The confession came out of nowhere.

Rei glanced up sharply, not having expecting those words from the quiet Wiccan. "Do I?"

"Sometimes, when we touch people, our powers can give us impressions. It's not very complicated and the feelings are always very basic; danger, family, safe, trustworthy, that sort of thing, but you…" Bonnie broke off, as if confused by her own explanation. "My magic says that I can trust you."

Of course it did. Rei placed her cutlery back down on the table with a heavy sigh."Isn't that good thing?"

Was it really so surprising that Bonnie's magic could sense that she wasn't an ordinary muggle?

Hazel-green orbs were wary as they searched her face for some kind of answer.

"I don't know, I normally only feel like this when I'm around other witches," Rei didn't react, keeping her face lightly interested. "But it's different as well. I don't know why I'm even telling you this, you can't answer my questions." She pretended not to hear the slight suspicion in Bonnie's last sentence and tilted her head.

"Well, how about I promise never to use what you tell me?"

"How would ever use it?"

"I'm not saying that I would but you seem to be giving yourself a stomach ache over something that barely seems an issue to me, so…" Rei trailed off, looking at the dark skinned girl pointedly.

Bonnie slowly nodded, her face showing more surprise at Rei's outlook than words ever could. "...Alright."

"Good," She picked up her fork and knife eagerly, "Because I'm starving and you've delayed my meal enough."

Rei didn't bother looking up; she already knew the young Wiccan was shaking her head at her, grinning.

…

Stefan watched Katherine's half desiccated body shuffle to the entrance of the tomb with conflicting feelings. On the one hand, he despised this woman. She had destroyed him, made him into something he never wanted to be and destroyed his brother. But buried under all of that were the memories. Memories of laughter and games, happiness, adventure and love.

She was a passionate creature, he'd always known that. And despite how much that very quality made him loathe her, he couldn't help admiring it at the same time.

"Stefan," She rasped, and he knew that to speak must be painful for her. "I'm glad to see you."

"Really?" He raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

She sunk slowly to the dusty ground, her eyes drinking him in hungrily, "Of course."

He crouched down on the balls of his feet, "Elijah's back." He saw her eyes widen in fear. "I need to be able to protect Elena. You spent years running from Klaus, you must know where he is, how to find him."

"Protect Elena?" She laughed throatily, "She's beyond your help."

"Katherine-"

"I don't know where Klaus is Stefan, I don't." He wanted to believe her, there was no sign of a lie in her dark brown eyes but he knew that meant nothing. She'd been lying for so long it was as easy to her as breathing used to be.

"You expect me to believe that Katherine Pierce who is always one step ahead of everyone, who always knows everyone's angle, everyone's agenda, doesn't know where or even a way of keeping track of the man that hunts her." He scoffed, standing up.

"Klaus isn't everyone," Her soft whisper made him freeze. "I've learnt how to survive, how to run, how to manipulate, how to win."

"Funny, I can't imagine a time where you weren't proficient at all those things," He kept his back turned to her, frustrated.

"He will find her, Stefan. I know you don't want to believe that but it's true. He's relentless. I knew him only for a couple of weeks, weeks which he spent charming me while he set up everything for the sacrifice."

"So?" Even as he asked he tried to picture the man capable of so easily charming and fooling Katerina Petrova, but it was impossible.

For as long as he'd known her she had always been in complete control. Even when she wasn't at her best, like now, she had always had the ability to recognise what was reality. The mere thought of someone being able to pull the wool over her eyes so completely, for so long, seemed alien to him.

"_So_, even knowing now that he was acting the entire time he was with me, I still knew that he was dangerous. Do you know how talented one has to be at manipulating to be able to maintain their real personality while also tailoring the reactions of another? I knew Klaus was dominating, proud and capable of great violence. I knew he had a temper that was frightening. I knew all that and more. And yet, it took Trevor, a young vampire hopelessly in love with me, for me to see the truth."

Stefan turned around slowly to see her staring up at him blankly, as if she wasn't really seeing him but something else entirely.

"Is that why you manipulate everyone that you meet?" He couldn't help but ask.

She laughed, "How very one dimensional of me if that were true, Stefan. No, I like to be in control, I always have. He was just better at it than me."

Stefan knew Katherine wouldn't answer anything more unless there was something in it for her and reluctantly drew out the clear plastic bottle full of blood from his jacket pocket. Her eyes focused immediately on the red liquid.

"Tell me where I can find Klaus," He held out the bottle, showing without words that it was a trade.

She shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving the blood. "It won't help, Stefan, all you'll do is get yourself killed."

"I'll take my chances."

Dark brown eyes finally lifted to meet his own, a certain sadness in their depths as well as resignation. "…Isobel. Find Isobel."

He frowned, "She knows where-?"

"She'd good at finding out things, she found me. Isobel is your best chance."

Stefan looked at her for a long moment before throwing the bottle through the barrier. She had the cap off and half the liquid consumed barely a second later. He turned to leave.

"You're welcome!" The rasp was almost gone from her voice, and he knew that should he look back the grey pallor of her skin would have diminished.

"If you're lying, Katherine…" He let the threat hang as he started to ascend the steps.

"Be careful, Stefan," Her voice floated up to him as he continued to climb. "Klaus doesn't give up. And he always gets what he wants. Always."

...

"So, did you hear how your little girlfriend was found sniffing around the tomb?"

Alaric glanced up with a frown of confusion, "Why would Jenna-?"

"Not your _real _girlfriend," He corrected, "Your little girlfriend. You know? Princess?"

He watched with amusement as Rick's face twisted with unwelcome understanding. "That's disgusting, Damon. Rei's young enough to be my daughter."

He shrugged, turning his attention back towards the crowd of people. "And Elena's young enough to be Stefan's great-great-granddaughter, don't be so judgmental."

Rick took a long drink from his glass.

"So, why was she at the tomb?" He asked seriously, an edge to his voice.

"Why don't you ask her?" Rick lifted with his chin.

Damon swung round to see the topic of their discussion approaching them, his eyes automatically sweeping her figure.

Wearing a loose, long sleeved shirt tucked into designer skinny jeans, all it took was one glance at the black stiletto heels to understand where her extra inches of height had come from. He normally enjoyed a more dramatic look than her understated outfit, but somehow, it fit her.

And she looked good.

"Alaric," She smiled warmly at the history teacher. "How long have you been here?"

Before his friend could reply, Damon interrupted. "Well, well, well, just couldn't stay away, could you?" He drawled.

"I'm not sure that I'll ever understand what you see in him, Alaric." He wondered whether it was her accent that allowed her to inject that much scorn into her words or something else entirely her.

"You are a ray of sunshine, do you know that?" He smiled sarcastically.

Damon was expecting her to throw an insult his way like judgy would have, instead, bright green; doe eyes caught his own in a measuring stare.

"Cat got your tongue?" He goaded, not liking the way she was looking at him.

Rick coughed, "Damon was just asking why you were down near the tomb the other day, Rei."

She exhaled loudly, as if annoyed by the subject. "I stumbled across it while I was running."

Blue eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, looking around Alaric. "Why don't I believe that?"

"Ignore him, Rei." Rick glared at him.

The defence wasn't needed.

"I have no doubt that the answer to that question would be found in your unresolved childhood issues, blue eyes." She shrugged innocently.

Did she just-?!

Alaric's snort of laughter was answer enough.

Quicker than any human, Damon reached a hand around the high school history teacher and gripped her wrist tightly, jerking her forward.

"Why were you down there?" He growled.

There was something off about Rei Potter, he didn't know what but the belief had only strengthened the closer she became to the few people he associated with in this town. He watched as she looked down at his hold on her and then back up at him, her eyes hard.

"Get your hands off me, vampire." She warned softly, emerald flashing.

"Damon!" Rick hissed furiously making as if to intervene but Rei shook her head at him and he reluctantly sat back down.

"Elena told me that you said you stumbled across the site while you were running." He leaned closer, tightening the hold he had on her wrist in wordless threat. "For some reason she believes you. I know better."

"Oh for God's sake," Rick swore.

"Do you?" Rei challenged with a single arched brow, the lack of fear in her eyes maddening. "Somehow, I doubt that." Before he had a chance to do anything more than constrict his grip in retaliation, pain exploded from his left upper thigh.

Damon instinctively sucked in a sharp breath and looked down. There, imbedded deep in the flesh of his upper thigh, piercing his jeans, was a ballpoint pen.

Capitalising on his distraction, Rei jerked her wrist free of his hold and drew back, her emerald green eyes practically spitting fire. Clenching his jaw against the urge to retaliate, Damon curled his fingers around the pen and yanked it free, the wound healing instantly. Raising it to his eye level he carefully inspected the round cylinder, taking note of the two thirds coated in his blood. She must have really put her strength behind it to have managed to lodge the pen in so deep.

"That was very stupid of you." His voice was hard as he gazed at her over the top of the unconventional weapon. "You see, I'm already healed. Whereas if I were to reciprocate your delightful little gift, you'd have to go to the emergency room and get stitches if you wanted to stop the bleeding."

Alaric stood up, placing himself in front of Rei protectively. "You were asking for it, Damon," He snapped angrily, but his eyes were worried.

"I don't think she needs your protection, Rick." He stood up. "But personally, I think she needs to learn not to bite off more than she can chew."

"And you need to learn how to think with your head." Rei glared at him darkly, rubbing the red skin around her wrist where he'd held her. "You're in a crowded restaurant, the only thing they will see is a twenty four year old man and a vulnerable teenage girl."

Damon grinned cruelly.

"Perhaps. But guess what? I can make people do things they would never do by choice." He threatened softly. He caught the confusion that flittered across her eyes with a vicious smirk of pleasure. "Ah, so you don't know about that little gift, huh? It's called compulsion, and right now," He concentrated, knew his pupils were contracting, "I want you to tell me what you were really doing near the tomb, and then I want you stab yourself in the leg with this pen, exactly the same way you did to me."

Alaric grabbed his arm, attempting to haul him around but Damon pulled free easily, his concentration focused solely on what was about to happen.

Rei stared at him for a long moment before she leaned forward, her lips brushing against his ear. "I was running and came across the tomb by chance." She raised the pen in the space between their bodies and Damon had only a moment to be surprised that she'd been telling the truth before, "As for your second _request, _why don't you have it?" She brought her arm down.

He lurched forward, his eyes widening at the unexpected lance of pain while his mouth dropped open in an instinctive search of air. Small hands placed themselves on his chest and pushed back, hard. He stumbled back, looking down. In a macabre re-enactment of the past, the pen was lodged deeply inside his body, only this time, his stomach. He ripped it free.

"You're not wearing vervain," He growled dangerously, advancing on her once again. "How-?"

Rick stepped in his path, brown eyes thin. "Enough, Damon."

He stopped. "Don't you want to know why-?"

"No," The man shook his head. His face tight, angry.

"Well I do."

The sound of a chair scraping against the floorboards caught both of their attention.

Rei was swinging her bag over her shoulder, her eyes cold.

Damon watched a worried look transform the history teacher's face and couldn't help rolling his eyes. If his interactions with Miss Potter had taught him anything it was that she was far from defenceless.

"Rei, you don't have to leave-" Rick frowned.

"And what? Stay here and enjoy the atmosphere?" She scoffed. "No thanks, I've had a lifetime's fill of arrogant pricks, I have no intension of suffering in the presence of an immortal one."

Damon watched her leave through slitted eyes, already having come to the conclusion that she must ingest vervain rather than wear it as jewellery. At the sound of hurried movements behind him, he turned around only to blink at the sight of Rick hastily gathering his coat and keys, clearly intending to rush off after her.

"Wait, wait, wait," He raised his hand to stop the man. "Where do you think you're going? I need your help with the possible she-wolf." He smiled a charming grin that normally got him out of any kind of trouble.

Alaric glared at him blackly. "Find someone else to help you Damon," He snapped, trying to push past him.

He frowned; worry beginning to uncurl in his gut at the anger that wasn't lessening in his friend's eyes like it usually did. "What do you mean? We're a team, remember?"

"After what you just did?! Are you serious?!"

"What did I do?" Damon frowned in bewilderment. He didn't see what was so bad. She was the one that stabbed him!

Alaric's jaw clenched, "Rei was right, you are a prick."

"But you knew that," He smirked. "Why are you so upset? I've killed people for a lot less and you never got this uppity about it." His tone bearing the first signs of irritation as his patience waned.

Rick shoved past him without answering, jogging towards the door.

Damon scowled after him. Well, that put a crimp in his plans, didn't it?

"Damon?" Turning around he saw an uncomfortable looking Matt holding a burger and chips in front of him. "Do you mind moving?" He lifted the food in wordless explanation.

Just then, Damon glimpsed Mason's Florida friend walking through the door of the Grill and smiled.

"I do actually." He pulled the quarterback closer, looking him straight in the eye. "I need you to do something for me. When that lady over there orders a drink I need you to put a little of this in it before you take it to her, understand?" He handed over the wolfsbane powder.

"I understand," Matt echoed his voice emotionless.

Damon nodded, "Good and you'll remember nothing of this conversation," He compelled.

"I'll remember nothing of this conversation."

"I'll take those," Plucking the basket of chips from Matt's limp grasp, he was gone.

…

Rei threw the car door shut behind her, ignoring the ringing of her phone as she stomped towards her house.

Damon Salvatore, she seethed internally, even the thought of those arrogant blue eyes was enough to bring her fury to the surface. The sheer gall! She touched her tender wrist gently, knowing that the skin there would be a spectacular shade of purple and black by tomorrow.

His attempt to compel her had taken her by surprise. She hadn't thought that he'd go that far but she should have expected it, the vampire clearly thought himself invincible, especially against an ordinary muggle. He'd misinterpreted her initial confusion at what he was doing for a lack of knowledge.

Compulsion worked differently on wand wielders. With the body always possessing a magical core, their magic instinctively fought to protect them. The result was a situation eerily similar to when under the Imperious Curse. A haze descended over your thoughts and when the instruction came it was difficult to fight, but it was possible.

She had more experience than most with that particular curse, experience that included overcoming the Dark Lord's imperious. In comparison, throwing off Damon Salvatore's compulsion was hardly difficult.

"Rei?"

Her head snapped up from where she'd been furiously searching her purse for her keys to see Caroline and Tyler sitting on her porch swing, both of them looking at her worriedly.

"You alright?" Tyler asked, standing up. "You look kind of…frenzied."

Before she could open her mouth to reply a blonde blur suddenly whipped past, stopping in front of her. "What happened to your wrist?" Caroline demanded, taking the injured limb into her hands gently.

Rei looked down at her swelling red wrist, her mood darkening at the reminder. "Had a run in with Damon Salvatore."

Tyler came to a stop beside them, his speed, though enhanced, still nothing compared to a vampire. "He hurt you?" The werewolf's brows drew down at her words.

She shrugged, tugging free of the blonde's gentle examination. "It doesn't matter. What were you two doing on the porch?"

But Caroline wasn't satisfied, "What happened?"

Pushing past them gently, Rei finally got hold of her keys and unlocked the front door. "You can come in, Caroline," She remembered to say as she walked down the hall towards the kitchen.

"I don't really know a lot about Damon Salvatore but you dated him for a while, didn't you Caroline?" Tyler asked the blonde.

Rei looked up from the teabags she was arranging in the three mugs, "You dated him? Why?" She didn't bother keeping the distaste out of her voice.

Caroline suddenly became very uncomfortable, "It was ages ago," She giggled without humour.

Rei watched the vampire closely for a minute longer but finally decided that it wasn't any of her business and she had no right to push. Walking to the tap she filled up the kettle before replacing it on its stand to boil.

"I hope you punched him at least, for laying a hand on you," Tyler told her seriously.

Rei chuckled, "One better. I stabbed him in the leg with a pen."

Caroline's eyes bugged out while Tyler suddenly straightened. "Wow, that's extreme," He whistled.

Rei shot him a confused look, "Not really, I mean all he did was pull it out and he was fine again. Permanently marring his face or any part of him is practically impossible with him being a-"

"Douche!" Caroline interrupted with a shrill yell. "You know," She laughed uncomfortably under their stares. "I don't think losing a limb would dent his ego!"

Taking in the panicked dread that dominated sky blue eyes, Rei felt suspicion begin to form on the edges of her thoughts.

She glanced at Tyler. The werewolf looked confused and frustrated as he looked at Caroline, but there was no knowledge there. Emerald orbs narrowed, fixing on the nervous looking vampire in her kitchen heavily. The blonde must have guessed the direction of her thoughts because her face instantly transformed into a pleading stare, her eyes desperate.

"Yeah," She heard her voice as if from a distance, "I can't permanently mar his face because he's a…douche." Rei spun around, taking the kettle from its holder and pouring the boiling water into the mugs, trying not to show her temper.

Tyler didn't know about the others.

Caroline hadn't told him.

Merlin, what a mess.

"Here, drink." She passed them the mugs, ignoring the blonde's eyes as she did so.

"We thought that maybe we could watch some movies until mid afternoon?" Tyler rubbed the back of his head worriedly and Rei's eyes softened. "You said that I wouldn't have to chain myself up until the sun goes down and, well…"

"That sounds good." She smiled at him warmly. "But," She held up a single finger, "I'm picking the first movie."

Tyler gave a helpless laugh and not for the first time Rei wished that the wolfsbane potion was an option here, but it wasn't so simple.

Without a magical core, the ingredients in all potions simply didn't react correctly. They became useless liquid in a system without magic. It was one of the things muggleborns struggled with the most, knowing about potions that would have cured them of the very same illness that was killing someone they loved. All because they didn't have magic.

And a muggle werewolf, despite being supernatural, was still a muggle.

...

Elena could only stare at the vampire, her racing heartbeat loud in her ears and almost painful.

"I mean neither you nor your family any harm," The original stated casually, picking up a random object off her desk and inspecting it before he placed it back in its original position.

She swallowed, "…How am I supposed to believe that?"

Amused brown eyes flicked up to smirk at her. "If I were not telling you the truth, your family would be dead and I would be taking you to Klaus right now. As it is, I'm here to make a deal."

Elena sucked in a breath, "Make a deal?" The disbelief in her voice was plain.

"Yes," He slid his hands into his pockets. "But in order to do that I need you to stop trying to get yourself killed."

"I'm not-!" She protested instinctively only to abruptly cut herself off when he lifted an eyebrow at her. Elena looked away.

"The terms I propose are simple. Do nothing, live your life as you always have and when the time comes you and I shall draw Klaus out together. In exchange, I promise to keep all of your friends and family safe."

There was an absolute confidence in his tone when he spoke, as if upholding his part of the deal would be simple.

"And then?" She tried to keep her voice steady, tried to be brave but the barest hint of a shake betrayed her.

"And then I kill Klaus."

Elena searched his timeless, classically handsome face for any sign of deception but found none. He was supremely comfortable right now, almost…bored.

"Just like that?" She wanted so badly to scoff but didn't dare.

"Just like that," He nodded. "I'm a man of my word, Elena. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

Did she really have a choice?

Her eyes drifted over his blank face while her heart sank. No. No, she didn't. Not really.

"How will you keep everyone safe?" She demanded, the twitch of his lips telling her that her voice hadn't been as strong as she'd hoped.

"I noticed that your friend possesses certain gifts, I too know people with such skills."

"You know witches," Elena exhaled.

The vampire inclined his head with an old-world charm, "I do."

"Who?" She stepped forward bravely. "Who will have your protection?"

"Your family and the Salvatore brothers, I assume?" Elena nodded wordlessly in answer. "The witch, Matthew Donovan, your aunt's partner, Alaric Saltzman."

As he rattled off the people dear to her heart a kind of dread tightened the muscles across her chest making it difficult to draw breath. How did he already know so much about her life? Had he been watching her?

"The blonde vampire…"

"Caroline," She jumped in quickly, volunteering the information.

He nodded. "And, of course, Rei Potter," He finished casually.

Elena blinked, stunned.

Rei?

"Something the matter?" Elijah asked, rising fluidly from the window seat.

Why would he group Rei Potter with her loved ones and not someone like Tyler? She was relieved to know her new friend would be safe, of course, but there were others she would have nominated before her...

"Was I wrong to include Miss Potter on your list, Elena?" He inquired softly, curiously. "Does she not know and interact with every other person in your circle?"

Elena frowned worriedly, shaking her head back and forth quickly, "Of course not! I was just surprised that you-that she-!" The annoyance that flashed across his gaze silenced her immediately. "No, you weren't wrong." She answered quietly.

Elijah cocked an eyebrow at her answer and Elena couldn't help the urge to hold her breath, her instincts telling her to keep absolutely still as the predator surveyed her closely.

"Interesting," He mused. "I hadn't realised that you did not view her as a part of your social group."

She bit her lower lip harshly; the vampire's words making her feel terrible.

"Do we have a deal, Elena?" Elijah suddenly focused his eyes on her, his question sharp.

Her heart thudded, "Yes," She nodded shakily.

"Good," He stalked past her, headed towards her bedroom door. "You keep your word, I'll keep mine."

And then she was alone.

Elena stood frozen in place, staring unseeingly at the white curtains that were moving gently in the breeze. On shaky legs she moved towards her bed and grabbed the phone that was sitting on her bedside table, dialling a familiar number before bringing it to her ear.

"...Stefan? Can you come over?"

…

_Next stop? Elijah and Rei meet! *wink*_


	11. Princess and Blue Eyes

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

…

"You did it, Tyler. Lets take the victory." Caroline smiled at him nervously, desperately trying to ignore the butterflies that had erupted in her stomach at the sight of his answering grin.

Last night had changed something between them.

He'd been in agony, bones twisting and breaking, crying out in pain. It was the most horrific thing she'd ever witnessed. Silent tears had run down her face for hours as she'd watched him, just being there in the room that Rei had built for his transformation.

She could remember thinking, when she'd first seen the room, that the steel plated walls, reinforced by concrete on the outside, were a little much. Blue foam mats had padded all four walls, the floor and even the ceiling. She hadn't known why until last night. When the wolf couldn't escape it turned its frustrations on itself, tearing at its skin, throwing itself at the walls. If those mats hadn't been there Caroline knew that Tyler's already pain wracked body would have suffered a lot worse.

"Where'd you get the clothes?" He asked, gesturing towards the cropped leather jacket and skirt she was wearing.

Why was this so awkward?

"Oh, um, Rei let me store them at her house. She has an amazing bathroom, did you know that? It's got that multiple shower heads thing going on," She laughed uncomfortably, mentally cringing at her lame words. Seriously? Rei's bathroom, that's what she went with?

Caroline caught the wry grin that he tried to hide with narrowed eyes.

"What?" She snapped, putting her hands on her hips. He better not be laughing at her! Yes, it might be deserved but that hardly meant he should do it!

"Nothing," Tyler chuckled, his eyes twinkling with laughter. "I was just thinking that that's where you must have been when Rei walked in on me naked this morning."

Her mouth dropped open, "Excuse me?!" She squawked. Rei saw him naked?!

"It was an accident. She came down to see how I was after last night and to bring me a cup of coffee and some scrambled eggs, and…" He trailed off with suggestively raised eyebrows.

Before she could say anything her phone rang. Picking it out of her pocket she looked at the caller ID.

"Well, would you look at that, speak of the devil," She smirked and answered, "Good Morning, Rei!"

_"Caroline, hey; look, I've been trying to get in touch with Tyler but he must have his phone off or something because I keep getting voicemail. Have you seen him? I wanted to make sure he was doing all right with everything." _The soft English accent on the other end made her smile.

"He's fine, Rei," She reassured her, hearing the worry the girl was attempting to hide. She'd learned quickly that Rei wasn't one to share personal information.

For someone who lived and breathed her emotions, Caroline hadn't really known how to connect with the girl at first, not until she realised that Rei Potter was the first person she'd ever met that felt things more deeply than even she did. Her friends often called her emotional and overly sensitive, and it was true to an extent. When she gave her heart to someone she gave it wholly, and when she trusted someone, loved them, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for them. That was just her. She'd always been that way.

And she recognised the same trait in Rei. That tendency to live each moment to the fullest, to experience the whole gambit of emotions in every situation, to give your heart to those you loved and cared for.

But unlike her, Rei was careful about the people she let close to her.

When she'd been opening the tomb for Elena, the brunette had admitted that she worried that the English girl didn't like her. An unusual experience for the girl who seemingly got along with everyone. But Caroline understood better than most the follies of feeling too deeply. Your highs were incredible, they took you soaring above the clouds and mountains, but the reverse was also true. The lows buried you down in troughs so deep it was suffocating sometimes.

_"Well, tell him to keep his bloody phone on!" _

Caroline grinned at the sharp reprimand. One look at Tyler's contrite face was all it took to know that he'd heard her as well.

"All right, I'll tell him. By the way, why didn't you tell me you saw Tyler naked this morning?" She injected just the right amount of female horror over the fact that she hadn't shared the juicy information to get a trill of laughter in return.

_"I didn't think he'd want me going around telling everyone that when he blushes, he blushes all over."_

Caroline choked, her wide eyes immediately snapping up to look at a gobsmacked Tyler Lockwood.

"You don't say," She snickered, trying not to laugh.

Tyler lunged for the phone, grabbing it out of her hand.

"You little liar, Rei!" He glared at the phone he was holding, as if it were somehow at fault.

Caroline couldn't help it, she laughed.

"Oh," She held her sides, trying to gasp in air past her uncontrollable giggles. "If the female population of Mystic Falls High only knew!"

He ignored her comment, "If I remember correctly Rei, when you barged in, without knocking I might add! Only to find me completely starkers, you shrieked and stubbed your toe on the couch in your haste to spin around so fast." He reminded her pointedly.

Oh God, Caroline finally got her laughter under control enough to hear the reply.

_"Don't be ridiculous,Tyler, you'll only cause yourself more embarrassment. In any case, if you don't want the story of how you hit yourself in the face with the bloody floor when you slipped on the same blanket you were reaching to cover-up with, circulating the town by the end of the day…I'd stay very quiet if I were you." _

Tyler brought the phone away from his ear to stare down at the screen incredulously, "Seriously?!" He demanded.

_"Have a good day at school you two!" _Came the singing reply before she abruptly hung up.

Tyler growled, shoving the phone back into her hands.

Caroline's lips twitched, her eyes focused on the small purple bruise on his forehead. "Got any other war wounds?" She couldn't help but tease.

Shocked brown eyes snapped up to lock with hers.

"You really want to go there, Caroline Forbes? Because I can tell you now, you won't win if it comes to a fight of embarrassing stories, I can assure you."

"I've known you all my life, Tyler," She scoffed. "You're hardly in a better position than me."

He smirked, "Yes, but I can hold my liquor, you," He pointed at her. "Can't. The amount of things you have done when you were drunk-"

"Argh, fine," She threw her hands up, a helpless smile on her lips when she saw him nod seriously.

Catching sight of Matt's approaching figure from over the werewolf's shoulder, Caroline knew she'd have to speak fast if she wanted to get in one last dig.

"Tyler?" When he looked at her she deliberately flicked her eyes up and down his body. "Seriously?…_All_ over?"

He blushed.

…

Rei surveyed the freshly swept porch with satisfaction before placing the broom back against the side of the cottage. She'd finally finished cleaning everything up.

"I take it Mr Lockwood made it through his first transformation unharmed?" The cultured voice broke the silence of the wood like a crack of thunder.

Emerald eyes snapped up.

Standing not five feet away from her was a man, his dark brown eyes fixed unerringly on her. In his expensive black suit she couldn't help thinking that he looked terribly out-of-place in the wooded surrounds, alien. And she hadn't heard him approach.

Rei narrowed her eyes, suspicious. How did he know about Tyler?

"Can I help you with something, Mr…?" Her voice was stiff and formal as she trailed off, waiting for him to introduce himself.

The handsome man inclined his head, "My name is Elijah Mikaelson." He gave a small bow of acknowledgment, the action so unexpectedly old-fashioned that Rei actually blinked. "As for helping me, Miss Potter, I'd like to speak with you."

She swallowed dryly, her spine instantly straightening to attention.

_Miss Potter._

Ordinarily, she would think his knowledge of her last name innocent. That he must have heard of her from one of Mystic Falls' residents, that to believe otherwise would be ridiculously paranoid. But her instincts were screaming that something wasn't right here, that there was nothing remotely innocent about the man looking up at her with that knowing glint in his eye.

"How do you know my name?" Rei demanded coldly.

He smirked.

Perhaps it was the prevalence of the species in this town that made her look down at his hands at that moment, or maybe it was depth of wisdom his eyes couldn't hide, maybe it was even the elegant, old-fashioned mannerisms that he'd already demonstrated, whatever it was, she glanced down.

Her breath caught at the sight of the familiar, blue, lapis stone encased in silver.

Rei's eyes instantly snapped up, connecting with watchful brown.

Vampire.

Elijah looked down at his hand with a smile, his thumb twisting the ring he obviously knew had betrayed him to her. "The Wizarding World works tirelessly to keep rumours of its existence from spreading, in fact, their campaign has been a success rarely replicated in history."

Despite knowing it wasn't the time, that she was alone and without any significant way to defend herself and should be focusing on that, Rei couldn't help silently cursing the people who had had the audacity to publish that the existence of Wiccan day-rings were mere rumour. What a bloody lie! She'd met four vampires since she'd moved to America and every single one of them had one of those blasted rings!

He looked up at her, his eyes deep and old. "Only the oldest or most well-connected of my kind even know of the magical world's existence, and they know better than most not to advertise the fact."

_Only the oldest or most well-connected of my kind…_Rei breathed in deeply, he couldn't have wrapped the threat more neatly if he'd tried.

"Even so," The vampire continued, his dark eyes roaming the planes of her face thoughtfully as he spoke. "Some stories are too big for even your world to hide entirely."

As the full meaning of his words sunk in, emerald eyes slowly darkened.

He knew who she was.

"Why are you here, Mr Mikaelson?" She hissed softly. Because she was no fool, he wasn't telling her this for his own amusement. He wanted something.

The vampire straightened the cuff of his suit jacket, seemingly unperturbed by her attitude.

"My purpose in coming here today was to strike an accord with you, Miss Potter." Elijah stated without fanfare. "You are obviously in Mystic Falls for a reason. Common sense tells me that the lack of any magic-users of your kind anywhere in the vicinity is hardly a coincidence. For whatever reason, you don't want to be found by anyone from your world."

Rei felt the blood in her veins turning to ice as correct assumption after correct assumption fell from his lips.

She was defenceless here. If he told anyone about her whereabouts, if the news reached the wrong ears first, her enemies would descend on her and she wouldn't be able to protect herself. They would obliterate this little town and all its muggle inhabitants in their vengeance against her, it would be a massacre.

"What do you want?" She spat, despising the fact that in all likelihood she was going to accept this vampire's deal, whatever it entailed.

The bloody consequences, were he to carry out his threat and expose her whereabouts, almost ensured her inevitable agreement. Even if she knew that they were coming, magic worked too fast. She simply wouldn't have enough time to run. Once they had a location from which to start, Rei had no hope of avoiding their tracking. Not with the limited, muggle-only resources at her disposal.

Elijah's eyes sharpened.

Without warning, his body seemed to discard the relaxed posture that had been his constant companion throughout this entire discussion, unfolding to reveal a poised posture that Rei recognised instantly. It was one she'd assumed herself on many occasions. One that allowed for maximum advantage in a fight.

Nerves immediately erupted in her belly as she took in his tensed, ready muscles. What could he possibly want from her that was so bad he'd taken the precaution of preparing his body for a violent reaction in the form of an attack?

"I don't want you to get involved with anything to do with the doppelgänger, or the curse." He stated flatly, his face immovable.

She exhaled loudly, the tension leaving her body with such speed she actually physically sagged.

Shaking her head, Rei let out a single bark of humourless laughter, "That's it?" She ran a hand through her curls, pushing the raven strands back behind her ears. "That's all you want from me? Not to get involved with a curse that has something to do with Elena Gilbert?" She needed to make sure she'd understood him correctly.

A flash of surprise crossed his face, "Have they not informed you of their affairs?"

She folded her arms, "I don't see why they would." Really, she'd only moved here two months ago.

His face adopted a considering expression, as if he was arguing with himself over something. "I do not wish to mislead you." A vampire with morals? Really? Rei snorted internally. "If we come to an accord, I wish it to be with full knowledge of what you're agreeing to."

"It's a curse, Mr Mikaelson, I'm sure that breaking it is fittingly grisly," She shrugged.

They might not have told her what was going on but that didn't mean she couldn't guess.

"That's certainly one way of describing it," He raised an eyebrow at her dismissive attitude. "In order for the curse to be broken the doppelgänger must die." He spoke clearly, clinically. "Are you saying that you have no objections to a seventeen year old girl being killed because of the face she was born with?"

Rei glared at him hotly, not liking the inference he'd made about her. "Of course, I object. Of course, I feel for Elena's situation. But I also know that I have no idea what the entire story behind this curse is, for obvious reasons, I haven't been told." She tacked on at the end.

"Even so, I find it hard to believe that someone who has spent their life being hunted by a Dark Lord, bearing the weight of thousands on their shoulders, and finally achieving victory in war, is the type of person that sits idly by."

A slow smirk pulled up the corners of her lips, "Elena Gilbert has the affections of two very stubborn vampires, she's hardly defenceless. They will do whatever it takes to save her, no matter what they have to do. Compared to that level of devotion, whatever assistance I might extend would hardly make an impact."

He cocked an eyebrow at her words, "You don't give yourself enough credit, Miss Potter."

Rei didn't bother answering. That statement, more than any other, had only confirmed what she'd already been thinking. The vampire didn't know about her magic. He was working from an incorrect premise. That's why he was surprised by her blasé attitude concerning Elena's part in the curse. With her magic, she would no doubt be a powerful ally should she choose to intervene. What he didn't know was, as she was right now, she was hardly the ace in the hole he clearly saw her as.

No, she would agree to his terms, and she could do that without feeling a shred of guilt.

He looked amused, "I have watched you interact with the group of people that seem to rotate around Elena Gilbert. The vampire hunter cares deeply for you, an almost fatherly affection I would say, I certainly believe that it will grow to become so in time if it hasn't yet reached that point."

Rei could feel her figurative hackles rise with those words. "You've been watching me?!" She stepped forward, fists clenched at her sides tightly. "Why-?!"

That he'd been watching her for Merlin knows how long was more than concerning, but…no, it wasn't possible. If Elijah had been aware of her current vulnerability, she had a feeling they'd be having a very different conversation than the one they were having right now.

"I told you," He interrupted her, waving away her anger as if it were unimportant. "To have done the things you have, played the part you did, your personality isn't one that watches from the sidelines. Your growing relationships with both the witch and young vampire, not to mention the history teacher and Mr Lockwood, might induce you to get involved in something that doesn't concern you."

The realisation was like hitting a lake of ice water. Rei could only stare at him in silence as he continued to explain the full reality and possible consequences of her decision should she choose to agree.

"The witch already seems to instinctively trust you. Alaric Saltzman can speak for himself, and the recently turned Caroline keeps your involvement with the Lockwood boy a secret from friends she views as her surrogate family." He shrugged with an old world elegance that she couldn't help admiring. "Am I wrong to anticipate you might get involved? If nothing else but for their sakes?"

She swallowed thickly, her stomach churning as the full ramifications and possible outcomes of this blasted curse were revealed. Shit! This wasn't the way things were supposed to have gone! She wasn't here to make friends! Her purpose in Mystic Falls was crystal clear, fix her magic as soon as possible so she could go back to England where she belonged!

Rei groaned, raising her arms, she dug the heel's of her hands into her eyes before she even had a chance to think better of it. A second later, Rei froze, her blood running cold when she realised exactly what she'd done. In the next second her arms had dropped to her sides, her heart beating furiously in her chest as emerald orbs frantically sought out Elijah's figure, needing to make sure he hadn't moved.

When her eyes locked with amused brown orbs that knew exactly what had just happened, a dangerous distance descended in her mind and her decision became clear.

"I shall not interfere," Rei promised tightly, fists clenched at her sides.

With his eyes hooded, as if her answer had surprised him, the vampire nodded curtly. "You have my word that your presence here will remain a secret."

She couldn't remember the last time she'd let down her guard in a dangerous situation. To knowingly increase her own vulnerability when she was already so weak…! It was terrifying. Even if she'd had full access to her magic a mistake like that was unacceptable.

No, whatever was happening in Mystic Falls was not her responsibly. It was not her battle, and Good Godric, she wasn't going to fight it for them.

Rei watched as Elijah turn gracefully on his heel, the action elegant even by vampire standards, and couldn't stop the question from rising up. It had been nudging at her thoughts ever since he'd introduced himself. A certain familiarity, a feeling that she should know…

"Could I have heard of you?" She instinctively raised her voice despite knowing he'd have heard her just as well if she'd whispered the question.

He looked back over his shoulder, an indecipherable look in his eyes.

"Perhaps…I am one of the Original family." And then he was gone.

Rei stared wide-eyed at the spot that he'd disappeared from, her body frozen in shock.

"…Fuck!" She breathed.

...

Jules watched Tyler approach the young, blonde vampire with trepidation. Her hand tightening on the strap of her handbag seeing the friendly smiles they exchanged, the warmth and even the esteem which he looked at her with.

God, this was a nightmare.

He wasn't very old. She'd known that even before seeing him. The panicked message he'd left for his Uncle weren't the actions of someone who knew what was going on. But she hadn't thought…he must have only turned a few times, it was the only explanation she had for the fact that he hadn't been able to tell what she was when she turned up on his doorstep yesterday.

She'd known what he was the very second he opened that door and she laid eyes on him.

Family.

Because that's what wolves were for each other. Family.

From the moment she'd woken, her instincts and reason had warred against each other, each determined to come out on top.

The desire to see him was almost impossible to ignore. The need to make sure he'd made it through the full moon almost overwhelming. Her worries were relentless, never leaving her be. She kept wondering if he had found a place to chain himself up? Her heart had thudded painfully against her chest at the thought of the young boy alone and scared, in pain.

But if they saw her checking up on him…the vampires couldn't find out that Tyler was her first priority, that answers concerning Mason were wanted, of course, but that wasn't her focus. If they knew, they'd use him against her. They'd hurt him, break them.

But Jules hadn't been able to help herself. Not with scenes of the young werewolf in pain and hurting, flashing through her mind.

So she'd tracked him down.

Jules could see the evidence of last night in the gingerness of his every step. In the way he turned his neck slowly, as if the muscles there were burning. In the way he squinted when the sun shone in his eyes, his vision still too sensitive. In the way he moved just a little awkwardly, as if walking on two legs was taking more concentration than it normally did.

Her blood had run cold when she saw her. Blonde and bubbly, she could smell what she really was from all the way across the parking lot. That scent that clung to all vampires. Iron and frost. She breathed out slowly, trying to keep her heartbeat calm, not wanting to attract the vampire's attention with her this close to Tyler. Not when she could so easily kill him if Jules gave her a reason to feel threatened.

Did Tyler know what she was? That the girl he was so happily talking to right now was a bloodsucking monster? That she would have no trouble murdering him if it suited her? It hardly seemed possible considering the way he was smiling at her…but how could he not?

...

"This isn't to help Rose, is it? You're asking for Elena."

Stefan sighed, he knew that he should feel guilty, but he didn't. "Katherine said that Isobel could help us find Klaus."

Rick frowned, "She's not going to help you, even for Elena. She doesn't care anymore." There was a resigned sadness in his voice as he admitted that truth.

"I just want to try," Stefan pressed, determined to get what he came for.

"...I have an old number, I'll text it to you."

"Thanks," He nodded.

He got up to leave, wanting to get back to the Boarding house as soon as possible. He was worried about Elena looking after Rose all day, they didn't know what effect werewolf bites had on vampires, and frankly, he didn't want to take the risk with his girlfriend.

"Wait," Alaric called him back. "You need to talk to Damon." He said seriously.

Stefan's head dropped. Oh God, what had his brother done now?

Knowing that there was no telling how long this would take, He sat back down. "Rick, whatever it was, you have to remember that this whole business with Rose being bitten by Jules has thrown him off. He's not together right now, can't you just-?"

"This was before Jules bit Rose."

Stefan sat back, sighing. "Alright, what happened?" The very real anger that ghosted across the usually even-tempered man's face a second later had worry erupting in the pit of his stomach and he straitened.

"Do you know how skeptical Rei was when I told her that you, Damon and Caroline were different from other vampires? How naïve she believed me to be for trusting that you wouldn't hurt anyone?" His voice was low and harsh as he fired his questions at an unsuspecting Stefan.

Dread arrived quickly and Stefan couldn't help raising a hand to press against his mouth, as if to silence the words he knew were coming.

"He doesn't trust her, Rick." The excuse was flimsy at best. "You have to admit, for an ordinary seventeen year old girl she's remarkably self-assured-"

"She's been through a lot!" Alaric defended her hotly.

"You know that? She's told you that?" Stefan pressed.

"Jesus Christ, Stefan! I'm not going to go rooting around in Rei's past like I'm entitled to it! She's done nothing wrong to be regarded with such suspicion and certainly nothing to deserve Damon manhandling her right in the middle of the freaking Grill!" He growled softly.

Stefan pushed a hand through his hair, hardly surprised to find out that that was what had happened.

"Is she alright?" It was the most important thing to establish. If she was hurt she could go to the council with what she knew, might even feel as though she had no choice in the matter.

"She's fine," He frowned at the sudden bark of laughter Rick let loose. "Stuck a pen in Damon for laying a hand on her, twice!" He crowed, clearly remembering the incident with a certain amount of glee.

Ah, so that's where the blood had come from. Damon had refused to tell him when he pointed it out last night, and truthfully, he'd been too preoccupied with the news about Elijah and Elena's deal to pursue the subject at the time. He was regretting that decision now.

"Were you able to talk to her? Explain Damon's perspective?" He asked hopefully.

Rick scoffed, "I ran out after her but she'd already gone and she's not answering my calls. Not that I'd use the opportunity of her talking to me to tell her to forgive Damon for being an idiotic jerk!" He clarified with a pointed glare.

Elena had told him about the teacher's quick affection for Rei Potter, she hadn't known what to think of it and he remembered vividly how she'd worried about Rick's reaction should they need to compel the British girl's silence. But hearing about it and seeing it were two different things.

He leaned forward with a frown, letting his elbows rest on the tabletop as he regarded Rick, "Why are you so attached to her, Alaric?" He asked softly. "You've known her for what? Just over a month?"

Stefan watched the man roll his eyes heavenward, clearly finding the inquiry ridiculous.

"I like her, Stefan. It is that simple." Truth blazed from his light brown eyes and Stefan finally nodded his acceptance.

The two had clicked. That was more than obvious. He'd done the same with Lexi. It hadn't mattered how long he'd known her, after that first official meeting he'd simply loved spending time with her. There was never anything romantic in either of their feelings but there had been quick, genuine affection on both sides that had never gone away.

"I'll get Elena to talk to her," Stefan told Rick. It was probably better that way, he doubted she wanted anything to do with vampires right now.

"No need," Rick dismissed with a wave. "I'll talk to her, but you need to speak with Damon about how he treats her because she's not the type to take it lying down."

He could feel his lips twitch in amusement at the insinuation that the beautiful, fey-like girl could be a threat to Damon. Even the idea was comical.

"Alright, I'll talk to him."

…

Caroline slammed the door shut only to sag against it a second later.

Oh God! Her head dropped into her hands.

First Matt kisses her and now Tyler! It was like some warped nightmare or something!

She'd been so miserable ever since Matt broke up with her, no matter that she basically forced him to do it, and in the back of her mind she'd hoped that he cared enough about her to want to get back together. But now…she'd just been spending so much time with Tyler lately, she'd seen something in him that she had never known existed before. His smile made her nervous and she liked the way his dark eyes always gleamed when he saw her coming. She was just…so confused.

Her head snapped up, eyes bright with determination. Caroline pushed herself off the door and stalked down the hallway towards her room. She needed to talk to someone.

Bouncing down onto her bed, she reached into the back pocket of her jeans and yanked out her phone, immediately searching for Bonnie's number. It wasn't until she was actually looking at the screen, her thumb hovering over the call button that she hesitated.

Bonnie was still getting used to her best friend being a vampire, Caroline didn't know how she would react to actually talking about Tyler's new werewolf status. Not to mention that the witch had always had a very strict moral code. Liking two boys at the same time wouldn't exactly garner her sympathy, more like disapproval.

Groaning, she flopped back on her bed, glaring up at the ceiling. Elena wasn't even an option. The brunette had so much going on, what with the curse, Katherine and Original vampires, that Caroline never felt like she could ever bring up her problems around her. Whenever she went to, a voice in the back of her mind would shush her, saying that Elena had real problems and not to bother her.

She bit her lip, glancing up at her phone screen hesitantly before finally pressing call, bringing the phone to her ear.

_"...Hello?" _

"Rei?"

…

Damon laid in the middle of the cold highway, staring up at the stars.

A car pulled up, but he didn't bother to look.

"Are you alright?" The soft tremor in the girl's voice made him smile.

"No," He shook his head, getting up.

"Do you want me to call someone?" The girl asked him worriedly.

She was pretty, Damon noted in a detached sort of way.

"There's no-one to call," He said miserably, a film of water coating his ice blue orbs.

What happened next was a blur. One second he was telling her to run, that she was scared, to not let him catch her. Then he drinking her blood straight from the vein, her slowing heartbeat the only thing he could hear in his blood induced euphoria.

Then she was being torn away from him.

Damon stumbled, the haze in front of his eyes making everything seem cloudy and confusing.

"Run!" He heard a familiar accented voice order. "Run, don't look back. Just get in your car and drive away." His vision sharpened as something in his mind registered the fact that his prey was escaping his clutches.

He attacked. He drove a soft, warm body down onto the road, the sharp intact of air from the person beneath him telling him that his rough action had hurt them.

The sound of screeching tires broke the haze in front of his eyes entirely and he looked up to see the car tearing down the highway away from him.

"What the hell is your problem?!" The furious demand was accompanied by a vicious thump to his shoulder that he hardly felt, and when he looked down he locked eyes with blazing emerald fire. "You were seconds away from killing that girl!"

A snarl twisted his face and he did nothing to stop the veins he could feel darkening the flesh around his eyes, letting her see the monster within him.

"And you decided that you wanted to take her place?" He mocked her, the vision of Rose's happy smile just before he drove a stake through her heart the only thing he could see. "How very good samaritan-like of you. Don't worry, I'll make sure it mentions that in your eulogy."

"If you go anywhere near my blood, I swear to Merlin, I'll castrate you, Salvatore." Nothing but blind fury filled those words. No fear, no anxiousness. He could hear her heart racing a mile a minute but the look in her eyes showed nothing but rage.

This wasn't what he wanted! He wanted to feel the hunt, the primal instincts of the kill, the satisfaction of a warm meal. Not this! Not a fighter! Not respect for the fucking distraction!

He rolled off of her with a defeated growl, his back connecting solidly with the road.

"You have anger management issues, anyone ever tell you that?" Rei hissed at him waspishly but, surprisingly, she made no move to get up, continuing to lie there beside him in the middle of the highway.

"Right back at you, princess." Damon countered with none of his usual fire, the words falling pathetically flat.

His eyes traveled up to the dark night sky above them.

She groaned loudly, "I can't believe I'm about to say this," She muttered under her breath before continuing. "What's with the 'woe be me' attitude, blue eyes?"

On any other occasion he would have thrown her an acidic remark that would have her declaring him a worthless piece of space and stalking back towards her car. He might even have attacked her for presuming to ask about his 'feelings', but he simply couldn't muster the energy.

So instead, he told her the truth.

"I killed someone tonight. My friend, Rose." His eyes never left their inspection of the constellations above them as he spoke.

He felt her stiffen in surprise beside him. "…Why?"

The most unlikely, annoying, English seventeen year old he knew nothing about, that's who he told.

"She was dying. Werewolf bites are fatal to vampires," The sudden heat of her gaze made him smile, the expression hollow of any amusement. "Good to know that you don't know everything, princess."

"What's that meant to mean?" She parried, but Damon heard the difference in her voice instantly. There was no real sting in her words.

He let his shoulder rise and then drop back down against the freezing cold road at his back.

"You come into town, and almost overnight you know that I'm a vampire. You know about witches, about the secret of the day-light ring, you even know that werewolves exist. It's nice to finally know that you don't know everything." His tone was bland, as if he didn't even care, and he didn't, not right now.

"I never claimed to know everything," She pointed out.

Damon snorted, "Of course not, that would make you seem arrogant, wouldn't it?"

He felt rather than saw her small smile of amusement. "…Was your friend suffering?" Rei broke the silence, her breath ghosting in the air. She must be freezing, he realised, yet still she didn't move.

"Is this the part where you tell me I did the right thing? That I put her out of her misery?" For the first time his voice was sharp, warning.

The small, raven haired woman just shrugged. "You tell me."

"…She was my friend," He murmured. The warmth of her body beside his own oddly welcome in the vast silence that otherwise encompassed them.

"Was it your fault?" Rei asked, drawing a shape in the air with her hand, a constellation, Damon realised. "Is that why you almost killed that girl?"

The stars began to blur and he realised that tears were trailing down his cheeks. "You realise that you are the luckiest person on the planet to have caught me at a moment where you'll get away with asking me something like that?"

She laughed, "Wouldn't be the first time."

"What are you drawing?" He asked her, watching her outstretched hand trace the same shape again and again with curiosity.

"Sirius."

"The dog?"

"Hmm" Was all she said.

"…It was my fault." Damon raised his own hand into the air and began to draw Leo. "I provoked Jules, a werewolf that turned up looking for Mason, who, if you were wondering, I killed."

"I wasn't." He could hear the frown in her voice and waited to see if she would chastise him, yell, shout, anything, but she didn't.

"I pissed her off and she 'marked' me, whatever the freaking hell that means. Rose came back to the house and I tore her to psychological shreds, told her to leave. And then she protected me. She knew werewolf bites were fatal and she pushed me out-of-the-way, took the bite that was meant for me."

Rei slowly lowered her hand back down to her side. "You're right. It is your fault."

Damon swallowed, his dead heart squeezing in his chest at the confirmation that no-one else had been cruel enough to say.

"I know."

"You knew Jules would come looking for you. You knew that she'd find the Boarding House, you even knew that Rose was going to show up." Damon frowned, a trickle of emotion filtering back into his thoughts as she kept talking. "You knew that Rose wouldn't leave, you knew that she'd push you away, you knew that verbally tearing her to shreds would make her sacrifice herself for you."

Damon abruptly sat up and turned to look at her.

She was staring at him. "Did you know all of that, Damon?"

Denial warred with reason. His conscience was screaming that it wasn't that simple, that he couldn't just let himself off the hook, that Rose had died and that had to mean something.

He pushed himself to his feet.

"No," He cleared his throat. "No, I didn't know."

"Exactly," Rei sighed.

He reached out to offer her a hand, which she took without hesitation, and hauled her to her feet.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride." She tilted her head towards the car standing in the middle of the road, the driver's door still wide open.

Damon nodded slowly. "…Thanks, princess."

...

_So…? Did you see that coming? ;D_


	12. Blood & Tequila

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

…

Jules waited for the front door to open, anticipation thrumming through her.

Tyler had insisted on meeting with his little blonde vampire, he wanted to confirm what she'd told him about Mason's death and the Salvatores for himself. His hesitation to trust her was understandable, but still, he wouldn't actually believe a bloodsucker's word over her own, would he?

She glanced behind her, scanning the trees for any signs of disturbance. They'd know by now. They would know that Tyler was no longer in the dark, and they'd have to make a move. She just hoped Brady and the others got here before they did. She couldn't protect them against three vampires by herself.

The door in front of her creaked open, Tyler's apprehensive figure motioning her inside while his eyes flicked to the stairs at his back, no doubt making sure his Mother hadn't heard anything. Wasting no time, Jules slipped quickly inside, feeling far safer within the mansion's defensible walls than with the open grounds of the Lockwood estate at her back.

As soon as he'd shut the doors of the room, preventing their conversation from travelling, Jules couldn't hold the question in any longer.

"I was right, wasn't I?" He shifted in his seat, avoiding her eyes. "Your little vampire friend and the others killed Mason."

"It wasn't Caroline-"

"She's been lying to you, Tyler!" She leaned forward, frowning. "They murdered him because of what he was, what we are." She was pleading with him to understand. The vampires were not his friends. "Do you see why you can't stay here? It's not safe anymore."

Tyler's eyes widened, shock dominant in his brown, black orbs. "I can't just pick up and leave! I'm all that my mum has left! I have a life here-"

"Had a life here," She corrected him, her voice firm. "I want to help you, Tyler. I want to teach you how to live with the curse, how to survive. As a Lycanthrope, it is both my duty and honour to help you. Please, let me."

But all he did was shake his head, and she felt her hope plummet.

"I'm alright," He tried to convince her, staring her straight in the eye. "Yes, I was freaked out, I still am, but I've had help. I made it through my first full moon and I," He shrugged. "I think I can do this."

Jules sat back, her face hardening. "You had a vampire helping you, Tyler," She reminded him harshly. "You couldn't be further from having a handle on your transformation. You need to learn what it means to be what we are, you haven't anyone to teach you-!"

"But I do!" He cut her off, abruptly standing up from the couch.

Jules felt fury rise in her and she lifted herself from the seat slowly, "Who? Your little vampire?" She glared at him hotly. "She killed Mason!"

Tyler spun around, "Caroline didn't-!" He stopped himself, running an aggravated hand through his hair. "Anyway, I wasn't talking about her. There's someone else, a human, she knew a werewolf and she's been helping me. Answering my questions."

Alarm shot through her and she stepped forward, her first thought that he must have run across a hunter, but that couldn't be. A hunter would have killed him at the first opportunity.

"Who?" She demanded. "Who is it Tyler?"

He frowned at her, a stubborn light in his eyes that she recognised instantly. Mason used to look at her the exact same way whenever she would order him to break up with his vampire girlfriend, Kathy.

"Why do you want to know? I told you, she's human." He declared, his mouth thinning.

Jules closed her eyes, knowing that she'd need to take a different approach.

"I assume that this human also knows about Caroline?" She asked gently.

He nodded mutely.

"Tyler, did it ever occur to you that she was a part of Mason's death? Because I can tell you now, there aren't many perfectly ordinary human beings that have no issues with vampires, and those that do normally have a problem with werewolves." Seeing his confused look softened her. He was too young for this, for all of it. "Werewolves and vampires hate each other, it's written in our DNA to be enemies, Tyler. Sometimes, humans are dragged into the war between our species, but they too have to pick sides."

"You know how stupid that sounds?" Tyler scoffed, looking at her like she was crazy.

"Think about it," She grabbed him by the shoulders. "Why would she help you without an ulterior motive?"

"Because she's nice?! Is that so hard to believe?!" He broke her hold on his arms. "She's been helping me. She's the one that told me that being a wolf wasn't just something that was once a month, that I'd always have it inside of me, just beneath the surface. She gave me tips on how to control my temper that actually work! She's done more for me than anyone except Caroline!"

Jules could only stare at him, trying desperately to mask her shock. Not many people knew that the wolf was always there, just beneath the surface. In fact, the information was only ever shared with other werewolves. Even their human partners, if they had one, never learned that secret. It was intensely personal knowledge. For some random human to know…even if she knew of their kind, had met one of them, it still didn't account for…

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Tyler demanded.

With effort, she pasted an impressed look on her face, letting none of her inner turmoil show. "I'm just surprised. I hadn't really believed that this human had helped you, that she would have been able to help you-"

"Well, she has." He interrupted, giving her a suspicious look at her about-face.

Jules smiled a close-lipped smile.

"Tyler?" They both looked at the door at the sound of his mother's voice.

"You'd better go see what she wants, I'll wait here." She assured him.

The young man nodded at her, immediately crossing the room to leave, shutting the door firmly behind him.

As soon as the latch clicked, Jules pulled out the mobile phone she'd managed to slip from Tyler's jacket pocket when she'd grabbed him earlier, hurriedly scrolling though his call log. Popular boy, she mused internally, seeing the amount of different calls he'd gotten over the past four days alone. Concentrating, she kept going back until she reached the date of the full moon.

_Caroline Forbes - 3 calls._

_Mum - 1 call._

_Rei Potter - 2 calls._

"Got ya," She whispered at the screen.

…

Bonnie smiled at Jeremy when she noticed him walking towards her, cutting through the square.

"Hello, Bonnie."

Her head snapped up only for her eyes to narrow a moment later when she recognised the person walking beside her.

"I have nothing to say to you, Dr Martin, or you son." She glared. "I know that you're working for Elijah. Luka's questions about the moonstone's whereabouts were less than subtle," She spat.

"You'll have to excuse Luka's enthusiasm-" He began, but she cut him off.

"I don't _have_ to excuse anything," She shot back.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Luka forgave you channelling his power without permission, Bonnie."

She flushed at the reminder. "I don't trust you," She hissed, judgement blazing from her eyes. "And I apologised to Luka for that. Are you here to apologise for trying to trick me into telling you where the moonstone is? Because if you are, forget it. I'm not interested."

"I'm not here to apologise," He looked at her calmly, without a hint of remorse. "Although I work for Elijah, that doesn't mean my son and I aren't also looking out for you, Bonnie."

She gritted her teeth together, "Spare me the witch-loyalty crap, Dr Martin, I know why you're really here. I don't know where the moonstone is."

"Really?" He stopped to look down at her closely, a silent warning in his eyes not to lie to him.

Bonnie lifted her chin, refusing to back down.

"Is there a problem here?" Jeremy came up to her side, his presence lending her the confidence she needed to break eye-contact with the powerful warlock and shake her head.

"No, we're done."

...

Rei staggered under the weight of the giant pot plant she was trying to navigate towards her car.

"This," She growled, shifting her grip on the plastic rim of the pot, "Is not my day."

The young boy that had worked the cash register at the gardening shop, had wanted her to wait until someone came to cover for him so that he could carry the huge fern out to her car for her, but she'd refused. Rei had always been a firm believer in not allowing her small stature to inhibit her in any way, a stubborn goal that she was now regretting.

Great Merlin, but she was sure the circulation in her fingers had entirely disappeared!

"Need some help with that?" A male voice called.

Rei blew some of the curls out of her eyes before looking to her right, the action trickier than it looked as she swiftly moved her feet to accommodate the new, awkward position.

Standing on the pavement, hands jammed into his jacket pockets, was a man she could only describe as 'rustic'. Hair cut ridiculously close to his scalp, the man's brow bone was over-pronounced, making his eyes seem smaller than they really were as he towered over her small frame.

"Er, no, it's fine. Thank-you." She flashed him a quick smile before returning to her task of carrying the plant to her car.

"I insist," He said, but made no move to help her.

Rei frowned. "I'm fine," She stated firmly.

"Sure about that?" A female voice from her left asked mockingly.

Rei immediately dropped the cumbersome plant and spun around; unfortunately, they were quicker, and clearly more prepared. Before she'd even fully turned, a white rag was suddenly clamped roughly over her mouth and nose, an iron arm wrapping around her stomach, pressing her tightly against the masculine body holding her.

"Get her in the car! Quick! Before someone sees!"

Rei could barely make out the honey coloured hair through her blurring vision and weakening struggles when the man holding her lifted her easily off the ground, keeping the cloth held tightly against her face with painful pressure.

Despite the growing black spot in the centre of her vision, Rei took her one and only chance when his grip loosened as he lifted her. Snapping her head back, she heard the satisfying crunch of the man's nose breaking and his howl of pain before he dropped her. She scuttled away, trying desperately to get to her feet but for some reason she kept falling to the floor, her vision blackening further.

They'd drugged her.

"Help!" She screamed, grabbing the concrete column in front of her for balance before pushing herself off, trying to get further away from her attackers.

She could hear the curses behind her and quick footsteps approaching and quickened her pace only to trip and fall to the floor painfully.

"He-!" Her yell was abruptly cut off by a punished hand slamming down on her mouth.

She reached out with her fists blindly, trying to fight them off, but her limbs felt heavy and it was…it was so dark...

...

Caroline gasped and lurched upwards, a sudden, piercing pain in her head making her cry out with agony barely a second later.

Oh God! It hurt, it hurt! She clawed frantically at the bloody wound trying to get to the bullet, but her hands were trembling and every time she moved a hot lance of pain would explode behind her eyes making her scream.

"Stop! Stop, Caroline! Stop!" A familiar accented voice yelled at her, batting her frantic hands away from her forehead and swiftly taking their place.

Without warning, small, dextrous fingers probed the raw wound before delving in deep. Caroline screamed, her legs thrashing out in front of her in some effort to stop the pain.

"Almost got it, almost got it," The soft chant was the only thing that grounded her and she sobbed brokenly, trying in vein to keep still as she cried out at every movement of those fingers. "Got it!" The overwhelming pressure suddenly vanished, the presence she had sensed hovering over her disappearing as the person drew back.

Caroline bit her lip in an effort to stop her cries but nothing seemed to halt the tears that were running unhindered down her cheeks.

"R-rei?" She hiccupped, her vision slowly clearing as she healed. The sight that greeted her made her gasp with horror, a small pale hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Oh God," She moaned.

The entire left side of Rei's face was caked with blood, her right eye bruised and swollen, as if she'd taken a hit.

Scrambling to her feet, Caroline reached for her friend only to freeze when warning emerald orbs suddenly swung round to pierce her. She frowned with desperate confusion, needing to make sure that Rei was alright, but the other girl was clearly telling her to stay where she was.

"Rei?" She called, her voice small.

Green eyes flicked forward. Following her silent prompt, Caroline followed her gaze only to gasp with shock and fear when she saw the man who had shot her outside the Grill sitting comfortably in a fold-out chair, regarding her with a sadistic smirk. She pushed herself backward until her back hit up against what she now realised were the bars of a cage.

"Finally decided to join us, did you?" He leaned forward, eyes bright with anticipation. "Your little friend here was lucky enough to have come round thirty minutes ago. Unfortunately, she hasn't been exactly…helpful. As you can see," He pointed at a silently glowering Rei. "That didn't exactly make me hospitable."

Caroline couldn't help from glancing at Rei with new, horror-filled eyes. He'd tortured her. That's what he was saying. He'd actually tortured her, a human.

"You're a monster!" She spat at him, suddenly furious.

He shrugged, "I don't think that you're one to talk, bloodsucker. Now,...how many vampires are in this town?" He demanded, staring at her coldly. "She," He nodded at the eerily silent Rei. "Wouldn't tell me. Makes me think you lot compelled her to keep all your secrets."

Caroline shot her quiet friend a panicked look, was she alright? Of course she wasn't, but why wasn't she speaking?! Why was she just staring at their captor?!

"How many?" He asked again.

She shook her head mutely only to scream a second later as what felt like acid touched her skin.

"You are one sick son of a bitch, you know that?" Rei growled, and suddenly, she was in front of Caroline, stopping any more of the vervain water from reaching her vulnerable figure.

Sky blue eyes widened and she reached forward just in time to yank her friend away from the bullet he'd just shot at her.

"Thanks," Rei murmured softly, her breathing heavy with pained breaths as she pushed off of Caroline.

"That's interesting, I barely even hurt the vamp and you're suddenly miss chatterbox, huh?" He drawled, pulling back thoughtfully.

The door behind him suddenly flung open and Jules stomped in. "He wants proof," She sighed, holding out the phone.

The werewolf smiled, his eyes coming back to them.

Before Rei had time to do anything, Caroline's eyes suddenly hardened with determination and she shoved the small, black-haired girl out-of-the-way. The bullet pierced her arm, jarring through her entire body.

She couldn't have stopped the scream if she'd wanted to.

…

"Why am I only hearing about this now?" Damon demanded angrily.

"Stefan was worried that you would-"

"What, kill him? Yeah, I would have. Because, as you can see, we wouldn't be having this problem if it had been dealt with my way in the first place." He hissed furiously.

Elena sent him a helpless look. Did he always have to be so difficult?

"You can't kill Tyler, Damon. Yes, do whatever it takes to get Caroline back, but don't kill him," She pleaded. "Be the better man."

"…You've got to stop doing that."

She gulped at the dark look in his eyes, "Doing what?"

"Expecting that I'll act like the better man simply because it's you that's asking," He glared.

Her heart thudded, guilt immediately spreading through her as he called her on her actions, before she could speak though, her phone buzzed.

"It's Stefan again." She explained, silently glad to have avoided having to answer him.

"Does he have a plan?" Damon demanded hotly.

Elena clicked the text.

_Jules has Alaric's friend, Rei, as well. She's there with Caroline._

"Why would they take Rei?" She wondered out loud.

Elena never, not for a moment, expected the elder Salvatore, who despised the English girl and had told everyone who would listen that he didn't trust her, to react the way he did.

"They took Rei?" He demanded, swiping her phone from her hands to read the message for himself before she even had the chance to answer him. "Shit!" He swore, his eyes darkening with, Elena blinked disbelieving, worry?

Shaking her head, she pushed Damon's uncharacteristic response out of her mind. "Why would they take Rei?" She asked him, a distressed curiosity churning in her stomach at the thought of the human girl in the possession of a group of vengeful werewolves. "She has _nothing_ to do with this. With any of this!"

First Elijah assuming that she was important enough to Elena to be included in her list of loved ones to protect, and now she's taken with the clear purpose of being some sort of bargaining tool? Not that she wasn't scared for what could happen to Rei, but she didn't understand. Taking Caroline, that made sense. But they hardly knew Rei! Apart from Alaric, she hadn't had any contact with any of them, not really. Not anything beyond mere acquaintance, at least. So why?

"Like that matters at the moment, Elena!" Damon shot her a withering look. "We've got to get them back."

Of course, she shook her head. He was right. Now was not the time to be asking, there'd be plenty of opportunity for that later, when the two girls were safe.

"I'm coming with you," She declared.

"No."

"You can't stop me, Damon. It's Caroline." She tried to stare him down but it wasn't working. Besides Bonnie, the blond vampire was her best friend, she wasn't going to just do nothing.

"What's going on in here?" John Gilbert demanded as he walked into the bathroom, his eyes flicking between them suspiciously.

The familiar bitterness of her 'father's' face made Elena turn away, hating the sight of him.

"John," Damon clapped the man on the shoulder, "First Dad duty, keep your daughter grounded."

"Damon!" She shouted after the vampire as he glided swiftly out the door, but he didn't look back.

…

"You bastard!" Rei hissed through clenched teeth, glaring furiously at the sadistic smirk spreading across their captor's mouth with bubbling hatred, the sound of the blonde's pained cries from behind her only increasing her rage.

Jules just turned on her heel and stalked out of the caravan without another word, the phone pressed to her ear.

Since she'd woken up, her head groggy and her concentration all over the place, Rei had had to wait as her senses slowly came back to her, the drug gradually loosing its grip on her mind as more time passed. The female werewolf, the same one that had bitten Damon's friend, had instructed her lover to find out how Rei knew so much about werewolves. Apparently, the knowledge that she'd imparted to Tyler were 'trade secrets' that she had no business knowing.

They were cowards.

Drugging her and then putting them in a cage? He hadn't liked it when she'd pointed that out to him. When she'd kept up her relentless taunts he'd broken her wrist, hoping to scare her into submission. That had only increased her anger. If they thought they could break her, they had another thing coming. Compared to the concentrated hatred of the Dark Lord's supporters, their piqued interest was nothing. He was a worthless worm, and she'd told him so. That had gotten her a grasping hand through the bars that had forced her head to connect with the metal cage, opening a gash just below her hairline.

No. No matter what he told Caroline, she had been anything but silent. But as soon as the blonde had woken, screaming with pain, Rei knew that antagonising him further would only result in the vampire getting hurt. And she'd never been able to watch others suffering, least of all because of her.

So she'd shut up.

"Watch your mouth, little girl," He snarled at her through the bars. "The vamp might be able to heal, but you can't." He pointed a sharp knife in her direction, his eyes flashing with dark pleasure. "Best keep that in mind."

She reached backwards blindly, her eyes trained on the werewolf that was counting out small wooden darts on the foldout table beside him. Instantly, Caroline's hand wrapped around her own, squeezing comfortingly. Despite their situation, the small protective gesture made her smile. The vampire had no idea who she was or what she'd lived through, but something told her that even if she did, the blonde would still have taken that bullet for her.

Rei breathed in deeply, centring herself in a way that hadn't been possible before now. Her mind finally clear of the drug's cobwebs.

"So," The man looked up at them, grinning. "Where were we?"

Emerald eyes dropped to the shirt he was wearing underneath his jacket, noting the cotton material and the way it clung to his broad shoulders.

She saw the way it would start to smoke. Small at first, tiny curling trails that would grow as the material heated. The fibres of his shirt would stiffen, surprised by the sudden heat, the way it only got hotter until the perspiration on his skin could no longer delay the inevitable. The sparks would start at his cuffs. Clinging to material greedily, licking their way up, growing with intensity and heat until it was completely ablaze with a life of its own.

It's only purpose to burn, to grown, to heat, to hurt.

"Brady!" The terrified cry of Jules broke Rei out of her trance-like state instantly, the sudden interruption making her jerk back sharply and blink as she tried to orientate herself.

The woman was trying frantically to put out the flames that had engulfed the entire upper body of her lover, his screams of pain terrible, the smell of burning flesh stinging her eyes. Several people rushed into the caravan, blankets to smother the stubborn fire and water to douse it fetched with startling swiftness.

"Rei?" The scared whisper of her name had Rei looking quickly over her shoulder and connecting with shocked, sky blue eyes.

The fatigue came quickly and with a vengeance. She sagged against the blonde, exhausted, only now realising that Caroline had obviously dragged them both as far away from the flames as possible. Her pale arms were wrapped tightly around her body, keeping her safe as best she could.

"Rei, was that-? Did you-?" The blonde seemed both awed and scared in that moment as she searched for words.

Rei darted a quick look at the group of werewolves, worried about them overhearing. To her relief, it was apparent that in their worried exclamations over their leader's burns they had forgotten about their captives for the moment. Knowing their inattention wouldn't last long, especially given the strangeness of the fire, she turned back to the blonde, unsurprised to find wide expectant eyes waiting anxiously for her answer.

"You can't tell anyone, Caroline." She spoke lowly, barely a whisper. "No one can know. I'll explain what I can to you, and only you, when we get out of here." Seeing the sudden misery in the vampire's eyes, Rei softened. "We will get out of here. They wouldn't have called someone who wanted proof unless they wanted something more than to simply kill us."

The blonde nodded silently.

"Promise me," Rei grabbed her hand tightly. "I need your promise, Caroline." Her tone was urgent now, she could hear the group behind them beginning to calm and turn their attention to what could have started the unnatural fire. "Please!"

"Shush, Rei, Shush!" Caroline whispered, looking at her with blatant concern. "Of course, I promise." She squeezed her hand gently. "You didn't even have to ask."

…

"Give us back Caroline and Rei," Stefan heard his brother demand.

"Give us Tyler!" Jules glared frostily.

"Tyler can make his own decisions," He spoke up, feeling the young man he was holding tense.

That's when bodies began emerging from the trees, closing in until they were surrounded.

"Go on," Damon shoved Tyler forward. "Get over there!" He smirked at the armed werewolves. "We can take them." He muttered to Stefan.

He shook his head, eyeing the flame-thrower-type device warily, "Not so sure about that."

Damon scoffed, and without another word blurred forward towards Jules.

As Stefan sidestepped a wooden projectile he caught sight of Tyler rushing into the caravan and breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped that Caroline was in good enough shape to help them out, he wasn't sure they'd live through this encounter otherwise.

…

"Tyler!" Caroline shouted with relief as soon as she spotted him at the top of the steps.

His mouth dropped open at the sight of both girls covered in blood, and locked inside a cage that looked like it was built to hold a rabid animal.

"There's a latch, I can't get to it," Caroline pointed out its whereabouts to him quickly.

He couldn't make himself move. She'd lied to him. Looked him straight in the eye, and lied. She'd even been a part of his Uncle's death, had covered it up! And he was just supposed to…

"Tyler!" She cried, this time panicked as she correctly interpreted his hesitation for what it was. "Tyler please! Rei's hurt!"

His eyes dropped to the small body that Caroline was holding tightly in her lap. Emerald eyes were closed, as if she were nothing more than asleep.

"Why haven't you healed her?" He demanded immediately. Jogging over, he lifted the latch, worry seizing him as he took in just how much blood was soaking her clothes.

"She asked me not to," Caroline sobbed, holding the English girl close to her before gently passing Rei's unresponsive body through the gate and into his arms.

In that moment, Tyler felt nothing but sorrow for what the blonde had clearly suffered to keep her promise and not heal their friend.

When Stefan had first mentioned Rei's name while on the phone with Jules, he'd felt nothing but disbelief. There was no way they had her. She was human! But then Jules had confirmed it, confirmed that she was there too, and suddenly he wasn't just fighting his own desire to go rescue Caroline, suddenly he was wondering, had she lied to him too?

Looking down at her bruised and battered figure, he didn't see it mattering even if she had.

"Come on," Caroline led the way, glancing back at Rei worriedly. "We need to get her to a hospital."

...

Damon watched with bewilderment as all of the werewolves suddenly cried out with pain, clutching at their heads in a way he was intimately familiar with. His theory was proved correct a second later when Dr Martin walked into the clearing, both his arms outstretched at his sides as he focused his power on bringing their enemies to their knees.

"Elijah made a deal with Elena," The warlock declared strongly. "I'm here to see it's upheld," He promised solemnly. "When your friends wake up, tell them they need to leave town." He looked directly at Tyler Lockwood, waiting for a nod of acknowledgement, before leaving just as quickly as he'd appeared.

Damon looked at the unconscious bodies at his feet with wide eyes, sharing a look with his brother before swallowing. Far from setting his mind at rest, seeing the easy power that the Original vampire seemed to wield, both as himself and through others, had only increased his feeling of anxiousness.

"Give her to me, Tyler." He glanced up at the sound of Caroline's soft voice.

She was standing next to the werewolf, her arms outstretched, and for the first time Damon noticed that the Lockwood kid was holding something tightly in his arms. Almost a second later, he realised that Rei was nowhere to be seen in the clearing.

"Now." Caroline's voice was rough as she spoke, full of tears.

Damon wasn't interested in her pathetic emotional turmoil in the least. A cold suspicion had settled in his gut as his eyes fixed back on the unmoving bundle in the werewolf's arms, the blonde's words re-running in his mind. _Give her to me, Tyler. __**Her.**_

He blurred forward.

Even injured, he recognised her.

Damon reached out to touch the half of her face that was coated with blood, his chest tightening with anger as he took in the evidence of the mutts torture. However, before his hand made contact with her cheek the werewolf pulled back, curling his arms more securely around the unconscious girl as he fixed Damon with a fiery glare.

His arm dropped.

"Why hasn't she been healed yet?" He growled angrily, his eyes flashing to Caroline.

"She doesn't want that. Don't you think I would have healed her before if I could have?" She snapped.

"I just assumed you were being your normal incapable self, Barbie." He sneered at her.

She ignored him.

Turning back to Tyler, Caroline held out her arms in silent demand, avoiding the boy's gaze as she did so.

The werewolf hesitated, his eyes darting down to Rei before he reluctantly passed her unresponsive body to the blonde. Damon frowned, he hadn't even known the two knew each other, let alone enough to put that look in the boy's eyes.

"…You'll call me? To tell me how Rei is?" Lockwood asked softly, his tone wary.

After a long moment Caroline finally gave a stiff nod of agreement and, without waiting any longer, suddenly turned and blurred away, leaving Tyler and the Salvatores behind in the clearing.

"Deal with him," He ordered Stefan, glancing at the werwolf in silent explanation. "I've got to catch up with Barbie."

Before he could leave, his brother placed a retraining hand on his arm stopping him. "Damon," Stefan warned. "If she doesn't want vampire blood we should respect her wishes-"

"To hell with that!" He scowled darkly. "She's hurt. Badly." Seeing his brother's eyes suddenly narrow suspiciously, Damon hurried to throw in a logical reason for his desire to feed her his blood. "How would we even explain her injuries to the doctors?"

"Why are you pushing this Damon? You've never willingly given your blood to anyone, let alone someone you don't care for." Stefan eyed him curiously.

_"Was it your fault?" Rei asked, drawing a shape in the air with her hand, a constellation, Damon realised. "Is that why you almost killed that girl?"_

He gritted his teeth, he refused to tell Saint Stefan anything about what had happened the other night. He didn't need to know that he felt something more than just 'owing' the English girl, that she'd made an impression on him last night, that he found himself actually liking her.

_"If you go anywhere near my blood, I swear to Merlin, I'll castrate you, Salvatore." Nothing but blind fury filled those words. No fear, no anxiousness. He could hear her heart racing a mile a minute but the look in her eyes showed nothing but rage. _

Damon glared at the knocked out werewolves lying at their feet furiously. The urge to kill them and be done with it hard to resist. He wrenched his arm free of his brother's grasp.

"Just handle this," He demanded before blurring away.

He caught up with Miss Forbes in no time, just before she turned onto the main street of Mystic Fall's hospital actually. Without giving her a chance to argue or time to fight him, Damon plucked the unconscious Rei from her arms, his bloody wrist pressed against her mouth a moment later.

"Damon!" He heard the blonde's furious shriek from behind him but paid it no attention. "What are you doing?! She's in no danger of dying and she doesn't want to be healed with vampire blood, you idiot!"

_She groaned loudly, "I can't believe I'm about to say this," She muttered under her breath before continuing. "What's with the 'woe be me' attitude, blue eyes?"_

He watched her features closely, the effects of his blood already apparent as the swelling around her eye rapidly disappeared, her split lip knitting itself together while the bruises on her cheek and neck vanished.

"No, she wouldn't have died," Damon looked over at a furious Caroline with a satisfied smirk, pleased to have gotten his way in the end. "But she would have been looking at a long recovery. Did you even know that two of her ribs were broken?"

The blonde's face dropped at that, and suddenly, reluctant appreciation that he knew she'd never give voice to crept into her eyes, making him laugh.

"You're welcome." He passed Rei back to her without having to be asked.

Then he was gone.

…

"Bonnie," Elena whispered softly, hugging her pillow to her chest as she sent her best friend a perplexed frown. "What are you looking for?"

Ever since Stefan had left them to go knock on Caroline's door, the witch hadn't been able to stop glancing behind them with searching eyes, her expression hopeful as she looked down the street.

Bonnie spun back around, an apologetic smile on her face, but before she could explain Elena heard Stefan's muffled prompt.

"…After what you've been through tonight, I figured you could use some company…"

Sharing a small grin with Bonnie, the two of them ducked around the corner.

"We're going to slumber it," Elena smiled, walking through the Forbes' open door.

Caroline wore an expression shock combined with an almost helpless happiness as Bonnie appeared from behind her.

"We haven't done it in ages," The witch said gently, holding her own pillow under her arm.

The blonde suddenly let out a laughing cry as the two of them wrapped their arms around her and for the first time in days, Elena felt content.

"…Is this a private party, or can anyone join?" The unexpected, softy accented voice startled her so badly that Elena actually jumped back, breaking the three-way hug immediately.

The shock that she felt when she looked up to see Rei Potter leaning casually against the open doorway was impossible to measure.

The foreign girl was wearing skinny jeans and a huge, white sloppy jumper that came halfway to her thighs. Dark hair was tied up in a messy bun on the top of her head while escaped curls framed her make-up free face.

"Rei?" Her absolute shock at the girl's appearance at the Forbes' residence was plain. "What are you doing here?" She sent a covert questioning glance at Stefan, but he shook his head telling her he had nothing to do with this.

"Rei!" Suddenly, Caroline darted forward, grabbing the English girl in a close hug. "You're alright! I know that when I dropped you off at your house you said you were, but I was so worried and now-" She let out an emotional sob.

Of course, Elena realised, the two would have bonded over their awful encounter with the werewolves. She smiled to herself, happy to have solved the mystery.

"I'm glad you could make it Rei," Bonnie stepped forward with a relived smile. "I was worried that you wouldn't get my text in time or you wouldn't feel up for a sleepover-"

Her head snapped to the right, looking at her best friend with surprised confusion. Bonnie had texted her?...When did they even have time to exchange numbers?!

"Are you kidding?" Rei laughed, linking her arm with Caroline's as she walked further inside, the blonde at her side beaming at all of them happily. "Free junk food, alcohol and movies? That's my kind of night. Though, I practically raced over here and totally forgot to bring pyjamas-"

"Say no more!" Care interrupted, lifting a hand to stop her. "You can borrow some of mine. This is going to be fantastic!" She clapped her hands enthusiastically, and if there was a lingering sadness in her blue eyes from the events of the night, it was fading.

Elena coughed, "It's nice to see you again, Rei." The formality of her own words compared to the way Bonnie and Caroline had spoken to the girl couldn't have been any more apparent in that moment. She caught the concerned look that Stefan shot her from the doorway with a wince.

Bright emerald orbs, that somehow lost none of their impact in their lack of makeup, settled on her. "You too, Elena," Rei smiled.

"I'll see you girls later," Stefan called from the doorway, waiting until Elena gave him a nod before leaving.

As soon as the door shut, a Cheshire grin spread across Rei's lips, shocking all of them. From seemingly nowhere, she drew out an enormous, unopened bottle of Tequila.

"I hope you have lemons Caroline because I'm determined to consume my own body weight in margaritas tonight," With a spin and a laugh, she darted off down the corridor in search of the kitchen.

"Brilliant," Care grinned with admiration as she stared off in the direction the fey-like girl had disappeared. "Absolutely, brilliant!" With a shout to tell them that she'd get the ice from the freezer, she was gone.

Knowing that they wouldn't have privacy for long, Elena grabbed Bonnie by the elbow and pulled her into the adjoining room.

"Elena, wha-?"

"You invited Rei?" Elena asked quickly, making sure to keep her voice quiet so they wouldn't be overheard.

The witch looked at her with confusion, "Of course I did." She stated, as if that should be obvious.

"But," She ran a hand through her hair, or at least tried to until she remembered that this was one of the rare times she was wearing her hair in a ponytail. "I thought this was supposed to be like old times. You know, just the three of us?"

She'd been expecting a night of innocent fun, filled with reminiscing, but now…

Bonnie softened, "I'm sorry Elena, I forgot that you hadn't spent as much time with her as Care or I-"

"But you haven't though!" She interrupted her, finally giving voice to the confusion that had been building ever since Elijah had added Rei's name to her list of people to be protected.

"You're right, we haven't known her long, but she's an easy person to like. Give her a chance, Elena," Bonnie smiled at her hopefully.

As soon as her best friend acknowledged that she had a point about them not really knowing Mystic Fall's newest resident, Elena felt the tension leave her.

She was being silly and overly possessive for no reason, she chuckled inwardly at the panic she had been feeling a second before. Caroline was one of the world's most friendly people and she herself had admitted that the English girl was strangely impressive, was it any wonder that Bonnie had evidently felt the same?

"Yeah, of course," Elena shook her head with a sheepish smile, "I'm making far too big a deal out of this. Come on, let's go join them."

…

_I've had that last scene, where Rei shows up at their girl's night to the complete bewilderment of Elena, in my head ever since I first started this story. _

_Did you like? Not like? I'd love to hear ;D_


	13. They're Looking For Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.

…

Rei slowly blinked open her eyes only to slam them closed a second later, an involuntary groan of pain leaving her lips at the thumping between her temples.

Just how much did she drink last night?!

Without warning, a phone started ringing in the silence of the room, the sound sending spikes of pain lancing through her eyes.

"Whose _bloody_ phone is that?!" She hissed furiously, throwing an arm over her eyes in misery.

"Elena!" She heard Caroline croak grumpily from beside her before the telltale sound of a body being forcibly ejected from the bed made her smirk up at the ceiling, arm still covering her eyes.

"My God, Rei!" Bonnie whined quietly, sitting up on her other side with carefully controlled movements. "How much alcohol did you put in those margarita's last night? My head feels like it would feel better if I chopped it off!" She hissed.

Rei snorted only to wince a second later when the sensation seemed to ping-pong around her skull.

"Stefan?" They all heard Elena ask, her voice scratchy. "Yeah, no, I'm alright. Had more of a party than I was prepared for last night, that's all."

The sheets beside her rustled with movement before a hand started pushing incessantly at her side, trying to get her attention.

"What?!" Dragging her arm away from her eyes, she scowled down at squinting blue eyes crossly.

Ignoring her bad mood, Caroline leaned in further so that she and Bonnie would be able to hear her without having to raise her voice. "I don't know what Elena's complaining about, she stopped drinking at like, two am! When did we stop?"

"Well," Bonnie held an arm across her stomach, her visage decidedly green. "Rei convinced me, despite Elena cautioning otherwise, to keep drinking until three thirty but you and the genius over here kept going until four fifteen I think." She breathed, trying not to make any more noise than absolutely necessary.

Rei glared up at the witch, "I didn't see you complaining last night, Bonnie, and retrospective thinking does not count."

"When can you and I have a sleep-over of our own?" Elena's flirty voice from the other room made all of them wince as the brunette either knowingly or unknowingly raised her volume.

Steeling her nerves, Rei pushed herself up onto her elbows before slowly climbing over Bonnie's legs, trying not to make any sudden movements that might push the slow rolling in her stomach over the edge.

"Where are you going?" Caroline asked from beneath the mound of covers.

Finally getting to her feet, Rei grinned at the floor triumphantly only for her stomach to lurch threateningly. "…I'm going to go tell Elena to keep it down." She growled, staggering out of the room.

Grabbing the door frame for balance, she squinted down at the blissfully happy teen sitting against the wall, a phone pressed to her ear.

"Now, today, take me far, far away," Elena smiled dreamily, not even noticing her standing there glaring down at her.

"Elena?" She croaked.

The brunette shrieked with fright, the sound like knives through her head.

"Rei! You scared me!" She was holding a hand to her chest, as if to calm her heart.

Caroline's furious mutterings form the other room soon reached them and Elena blushed.

With her eyes closed and one hand rubbing at her temples in an effort to ease the incredible thumping in her head, Rei waved a hand blindly in the brunette's direction. "Your phone, Elena," She ordered when it became clear that the girl had no idea what she was signalling for.

"Why-?"

Not waiting for the question, her stomach beginning to roll with a vengeance, she plucked the phone from her hand and brought it to her ear.

"I'm guessing this is Stefan?" She asked. "If not, Elena has an awful lot of explaining to do," She ended on a groan when a particularly intense thump seemed to travel all the way down her neck.

"_Yeah, this is Stefan._" A soft chuckle floated down the other end and she pulled the phone away from her ear quickly with a wince.

"Look, Salvatore, not that your romantic getaway plans aren't of paramount importance, but would you mind calling Elena back when, say, she's at least four houses away from my head?"

"Rei!" The brunette hissed, coming to her feet.

"What?" Why was she looking at her like she'd crossed some sort of social boundary? Oh, she rolled her eyes. "Stefan, Elena's worried that I'm being rude. Am I being rude?"

"_No, it's fine. I've faced many a hangover myself._" Came the amused answer.

Rei gave Elena a look that said, 'see?'

…

"You're healing…slowly," Jules told Brady, examining the burns on his chest that looked weeks old rather than hours. "You still can't remember how the fire started?"

"No," He said gruffly, pulling down his shirt with a small grimace, "I can't explain it."

"Is she a witch do you think?" Jules asked.

Tyler spun around, his temper flaring. "Rei isn't a witch!" He interrupted their private conversation with a dark glare, hands in fists at his sides. "She's human. And you tortured her!" He spat, disgusted.

Brady got slowly to his feet, staring him down. "She chose her side. She's with the vampires."

"Rei had nothing to do with this!" Tyler yelled. "All she did was help me and look where it got her!"

"Tyler," Jules stepped forward, a placating hand raised. "She shouldn't know the things she does, we had to find out how she got her hands on the information." She could see that he wasn't listening to her, his mind already made up. With a sigh and a look at Brady, she changed the subject. "Did you find out anything else on the moonstone?"

Expelling a harsh breath, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, levelling them with a stubborn glare. "Will someone please tell me the importance of some _rock_?"

…

"So that's why Dr Martin saved you guys last night," Bonnie explained to Rei, Caroline listening in as she applied mascara on her other side. "Elena made a deal with this Elijah guy to keep all of us safe in exchange for not running."

Rei pulled the brush through her hair one last time before silently passing it over to the witch.

"So let me get this straight," She looked between the two girls on either side of her in the bathroom mirror. "You're telling me that the reason we were kidnapped by werewolves last night was because they 'want' Tyler, and Damon killed their pack mate, Mason Lockwood?"

Since Elena had left to go pack for her weekend up at the lake house the two girls had taken it upon themselves to catch her up with everything that had been happening in Mystic Falls.

"I know," Caroline scoffed as she held up two different coloured lipsticks to her skin. "Totally possessive and wolfy of them with Tyler, as if the idiot isn't fully capable of making up his own mind. You know, I was feeling guilty for my part in Mason's death and keeping so many things from him but after last night…" She shook her head angrily, blonde curls flying everywhere.

"So Elena and this Original are going to work together to kill Klaus?" Rei asked slowly, keeping her disbelief to herself. "I don't understand, how?"

Bonnie shrugged, sighing heavily. "We don't know. Thanks to Katherine and Rose however, we do know that for the sun and the moon curse to be broken the blood of the Petrova doppelgänger must be spilt over the moonstone."

Her fingers, that had been preoccupied with tying a bracelet to her wrist, abruptly froze, her eyes darting up to pierce the witch in the mirror.

"Moonstone?" She let the piece of jewellery fall uselessly into her palm. "This would be the same stone that Elena's vampire ancestor was convinced that you had in your possession?"

Busy twisting her curls so that they fell correctly Bonnie didn't catch her suddenly piqued interest.

"Yeah, the moonstone harbours the curse within it. I've been trying to find it with my magic but it hasn't worked. My only consolation is that the Martins clearly haven't been able to locate it either."

"Interesting," Rei murmured. Catching Caroline's watchful eyes in the mirror she looked away, swiftly snapping the bracelet into place on her wrist. "And you think it wise to try and force the information out of the warlock, Bonnie?"

Hazel-green eyes darted over to her, "It makes sense. His father is far too powerful for me to even attempt such a thing but Luka isn't nearly as experienced, he's the weak link."

Rei finally turned around, crossing her arms as she resting back against the bathroom countertop.

"That's not what I meant," She corrected her gently.

"We need to find out what Elijah plans to do with Elena," Caroline explained firmly. "She's trusting in this deal she made with him to keep all of us safe. We owe it to her to do all that we can to reciprocate that."

"Yes," She drew the word out cautiously, broaching this topic with them wasn't going to be easy, but they were looking at this situation far too closely. "But Bonnie, I wouldn't so quickly side against one of your kind on mere suspicion."

The witch suddenly straightened, her eyes narrowing. "My kind?"

Rei managed to restrain the urge to roll her eyes with effort. How did she know that Bonnie would take offence to that?

"Elena is my best friend. Luka and Dr Martin tried to trick me, they're working for Elijah, an Original, I owe them nothing." Bonnie stated coldly.

Rei cocked an eyebrow but didn't say anything, just stared at the witch in silence.

Bonnie was the type to become obstinate, she'd figured that out quickly. But she was smart and very moral, deep down the witch knew exactly what point Rei was trying to make, she was just trying to hide from it.

Bonnie shifted on her feet uncomfortably, unaccustomed to the silent regard being levelled on her. Most people just shouted, it made it easy to disregard what they had to say, but those emerald eyes weren't angry. They weren't emotional. They were challenging. Challenging her to face the truth that this wasn't as black and white as she was pretending it was.

Her eyes dropped and she bit her lip.

"All I'm saying is that choosing to side against your own kind is a big deal Bonnie. I'm not telling you you're wrong to do so, or that you're right. I don't know," Rei shrugged pushing off from the bathroom counter.

"We need to do this though," Caroline spoke up, her voice soft as she glanced between them. "For Elena. It might not be ethical but we need to know what Elijah really wants."

"Alright," Rei just nodded, accepting their decision. It was their choice to make, not hers.

"Okay," Bonnie gave a small, breathy laugh. "Changing the subject to something a little more upbeat, either of you feel up to getting some food at the Grill with me? I need to stop off at my house to check in with my Dad first, but I could meet you guys there?" She asked hopefully.

Rei bit her lip, shooting a quick glance in Caroline's direction before she spoke, "I've actually got a couple of things I need to get done today, Bonnie. Maybe some other time though."

"Oh," The witch's face dropped slightly, disappointed. "How about you, Care?"

Wide, sky blue orbs suddenly darted over to her, catching her gaze in silent question.

She gave a tiny nod of her head.

"Sure," The blonde smiled at her friend. "I'd love to. Meet you there in an hour?" She asked.

"Sounds good," Bonnie nodded, grabbing her purse off the counter and following after her as she left the bathroom. "I'm hoping that Luka will be there too…" She trailed off, an unsure frown wrinkling forehead that hadn't been there when she'd explained her plan to Rei earlier.

"Well, I'm going to go pack-up the rest of my things," Rei gestured at the room behind her in explanation. "I'll see you later, Bonnie." With a quick hug and a wave goodbye, she left them alone.

Perched on the edge of Caroline's unmade bed, she stared down at the floorboards beneath her feet as she listened to the blonde walk their friend out. As soon as the latch clicked into place the sound of displaced air filled the room before a second body suddenly dipped down beside her.

"…So," Caroline spoke softly, breaking the tense silence. "You're a witch?"

…

Elena stared out the car window, worrying her lip as she watched the dense greenery passing by.

"Elena?" Stefan called.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?" She turned around, frowning at his profile. "You're not very talkative, and while that's not necessarily a sign of anything in most people, you love to talk."

She exhaled loudly, squeezing the hand he'd wrapped affectionately around her own in her lap. "I'm worried about what you told me," She admitted. "Why do you think Damon healed her?"

Stefan sighed heavily. "I don't know," He shook his head, turning the steering wheel skilfully with one hand as they curled around a sharp bend. "He tried to play it off as if it were nothing but I saw his face when he saw her unconscious in Tyler's arms, he was worried about her."

Elena's frown deepened as she stared out the front windscreen. "…Am I being paranoid do you think? About Rei?"

"I don't know enough about her to answer that, Elena." Stefan shot her a quick look. "But I can say that you never really brought her up before. Not since Alaric told us that she'd keep our secret. Are you sure you're not just surprised by how close she's become to the people in your life?" He asked gently, as if aware that it was a tender topic. "You've had a lot going on lately Elena, maybe all you're feeling is a little out of touch with your friends?"

She looked up at him with a soft smile. "I'm actually glad you said that," She confessed.

"Yeah?" Stefan chuckled.

"Yeah," Elena grinned back. "I realised last night that I've been so caught up in everything that's been going on-"

"For good reason," He interrupted.

She nodded, "But it's meant that I haven't had the time for my friends that I have in the past. I don't want us to grow apart." Her eyes idly followed the strong line of his jaw as she spoke.

"You won't, Elena." Stefan reassured her confidently. "You and your friends have been through so much together, I doubt anything could come between you three." He suddenly laughed, breaking the serious atmosphere in the car completely. "Apart from Damon and I being vampires, is there even anything that you've kept secret from each other?" He asked.

"Well, Bonnie didn't tell Caroline about the witch stuff for a while-"

"Yeah, but she told you," Stefan raised his eyebrows at her pointedly. Elena flushed.

"Then no," She giggled, hugging his arm closer to her. "We don't keep secrets from each other. I don't think that we even know how to."

…

"So,…You're a witch?" She asked hesitantly, unsure how to broach the subject.

All of a sudden, Rei groaned loudly and raised a hand to cover her eyes. "This is _not _how I wanted things to go," She growled under her breath.

Caroline fiddled with her fingers in her lap, having no idea what she could say that would set the English girl at ease.

Without permission, her mind flashed back to last night. To the memory of how their captor had screamed, trying in vain to put out the hot flames covering the top-half of his body. Rei staring at him, blank-faced, emerald orbs dark and intense, seemingly undisturbed by the terrifying sight in front of them.

"What you did to that werewolf last night?" She murmured softly. "That was magic, wasn't it?"

The black-haired girl suddenly shot up from the bed and spun around.

"Can I trust you, Caroline?" Intense green eyes bored into her, demanding the truth.

She frowned deeply. "Of course, you can!" Her voice was sharp, offended at the implication that she wouldn't keep her promise. "I already said that I wouldn't tell anyone, remember?"

With a loud sigh, Rei nodded and sat back down beside her on the bed.

"Alright then," She murmured. "Last night? With the fire?" Caroline nodded. "That was me, or rather, my magic."

She'd expected the words, it was the only thing that explained what she'd seen, but still…wow.

"So, you're a witch? Like Bonnie?" She asked excitedly.

"Not exactly."

"…I don't understand. You said you have magic." Caroline waved an arm over her figure, "You're clearly a girl, so warlock is out. How does that not make you a witch?"

Rei's eyes turned conflicted. "Okay look, you need to know something before we go any further. There are things that Bonnie doesn't know about magic, alright? Things that don't concern her."

"Don't concern her?" She echoed, leaning back at the choice of words.

"I am a witch, Caroline." Rei sat forward, staring at her with serious eyes. "Just not the type that Bonnie is."

"Wait," She held up a hand. "There's more than one?!"

"Yes," Rei nodded, tucking a curl behind her ear. "Most Wiccans, that's what we call those that access magic the way Bonnie does, don't know about us though. It would be impossible to explain it all to you now, the differences between us are…immense."

"So Bonnie has no idea about you, about your…people?" She said for lack of a better word.

"I don't think so," The black-haired girl shook her head before sighing. "I'm not in Mystic Falls for a gap year."

Her head whipped round, sky blue eyes wide at the confession.

Seeing her expression Rei grinned, "Trust you to find that piece of information shocking, Caroline."

"Well, then why did you move here?" She asked, ignoring the comment.

"I needed a place that was out-of-the-way to practice my magic. I had a, um…accident in England and my magical core was damaged. Every time I come in contact with magic I experience debilitating pain. Before I can go back home, I need to fix it."

Caroline felt her eyes growing wider the longer Rei kept talking. She'd never even heard of half the words she'd just used!

"But why can't we at least tell Bonnie?" She didn't understand, what was the big deal? She already knew about them, why keep what she was a secret?

Rei let out a humourless laugh. "Caroline, do you really think it's a coincidence that Bonnie didn't know what I was?"

She shrugged, confused. "She's new to magic-"

"My world has rules against exposure, Care." Green eyes were sharp as they focused on her. "We're powerful, more powerful than Wiccans. And there are more of us." She spoke about her kind like they were…threatening. "I can't go around telling people about my world-"

"Your world?" She repeated with disbelief. "Seriously?!"

"Caroline!" Rei's tone was whip-sharp. "Even if I flouted those laws," Laws?! "That's not the main reason why as few people as possible can know about my being here." She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back. "There are people that are looking for me." She stated lowly.

Caroline felt her spine straighten at those words.

"I got a letter from some friends of mine the other day," Rei continued on, staring down at her hands as she spoke. "There are rumours starting to spread back in England. Requests for information about why I left, my state of health, where I am." Her voice lowered. "They're looking for me."

Caroline bolted up from the bed, her eyes enormous as she looked down at her friend.

"Are you a fugitive?!" She waved her arms in the air, beginning to pace the length of the room nervously. "Because the way you're speaking, all 'people are looking for me,' 'rumours', 'requests of information?' It doesn't sound like anything normal, Rei! Just what the hell kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?!"

Her chest was heaving when she finished, despite not needing the oxygen, but she couldn't help it. The black-haired girl wasn't joking, she was completely serious! One look into her eyes was enough to convince her of that. My God! Was she in danger? Just who the hell were the people that were looking for her?!

"Caroline," Rei stood up and gripped her shoulders but she just shook her off.

"No!" She shook her head violently, blonde waves flying across her face as she did so. "I want to know! Are you in danger?"

Groaning, the fey-like girl fell back onto the bed with a grimace, scowling up at the ceiling. "My past isn't pretty, Care, but I'm not a _fugitive_!" She glared at her.

"But what about all that-that-that-!"

Rei sat up, the look in her eyes silencing her immediately.

"Relax," She ordered gently. "My friends back home are keeping an eye on the situation and will keep me informed. But Caroline, do you see why I need my presence here to go unnoticed? Until I can fix my magic, at least to the point where I'll be able to protect myself, they can't find out where I am."

The air in her lungs seemed to all leave in a rush. She sank back down beside the black-haired girl slowly.

Turning her head, she looked her straight in the eye.

"Are you in danger, Rei?" Caroline demanded softly, her blue eyes hard as she once again asked the one question she wanted an answer to.

"It's not that simple-"

"Yes, it is," She stated. "Are you, or aren't you."

Rei glared at her rebelliously.

"…If they find me before I get word that they're coming…maybe."

…

"Rei, when you get this please call me," Alaric pleaded into the phone. "Damon messaged me about what happened last night, which, I see you didn't bother with…Just call me." He hung up.

Before he could reach the front door it swung open revealing Damon and Jenna's friend, Andy, kissing just inside the threshold. With a disgusted sound he spun around, having no desire to see the vampire with the poor woman he'd made his plaything.

"Morning Alaric," Andy smiled at him as she left, a happy look in her eye and a strategically wrapped scarf tied around her neck.

He gave her a mute nod before ducking inside.

"Yep," Damon smirked at him. "I have a girlfriend. Andy, from action news."

Urgh! "It's not called action news," He managed to get out past the 'gross' factor.

"I know," The vampire blinked at him innocently before turning and heading into the library, talking as he went. "Elijah's posing as a writer interested in small town Virginia, he's going to be at this historical society thing at the Lockwood mansion today."

"Please don't tell me you're going to kill him at the tea party?"

Damon scoffed, "I need to know his end game before I kill him. In any case, I don't trust John Gilbert, or his miracle dagger that no one but him has heard about, guy's a weasel."

Alaric ran an anxious hand through his hair, "Are you sure that that's such a good idea? If you provoke him-?"

"I'm not going to provoke him," Damon cut him off. "I just think that it's time we met properly…and good morning to you, princess!" The vampire grinned at something over his shoulder.

Princess…

"Rei?" He called, turning around quickly.

…

"How's she doing?"Jeremy asked as he walked up to her table.

She glanced towards the pool-tables, focusing her hearing. "She's selling it, he's buying it." She shrugged.

"Yeah, alright Caroline!" Jeremy snapped, his eyes quickly darting back towards Luka and Bonnie.

Seeing the looks he was giving the pair a small smile started tugging at her lips as the realisation hit her. He liked her!

"So, how are things going with you and Matt?" He asked, looking like he wanted a distraction.

"Oh," Not expecting the question she shook her head, trying to reorientate herself. "Good, well, I thought it was going good but then he caught me in a lie that I told because I couldn't exactly explain the real reason I wasn't able to meet up with him last night."

"Sorry," He gave her a sympathetic smile. "So, he's angry at you?"

She tilted her head, giving him a wry smile. "I can't believe I'm discussing boy problems with Elena's little brother."

"I'm not just Elena's little brother!" He shot her an angry glance. She hid her smile at having correctly guessed what the problem between he and her friend was.

"Sorry," She raised her hands innocently.

But he wasn't paying attention. "Caroline, look," Jeremy pointed, already moving in the direction of the pool-tables as Luka's figure wobbled, the drug that Bonnie had slipped into his drink finally taking effect.

...

Standing on the steps leading to the library wearing a black maxi dress and denim jacket was Rei Potter.

Large black curls had been left free, trailing down her back with a few tendrils escaping the pair of sunglasses she'd pushed to the top of her head to frame her face. A face that was looking paler than normal, he realised with concern.

"Alaric," She smiled at him warmly. "I didn't realise that you'd be here."

His eyes narrowed, "Well, if you'd checked your phone you would have listened to the voicemail I left telling you exactly that."

"Yeah, sorry about that, tough night," She tucked a curl behind her ear.

From behind him, Damon let out a snort of amusement. "I'll say. From what I overheard this morning that tough night ended up becoming a tough morning as well, right princess?"

"Eavesdropper," Rei glared lightly at the vampire. In fact, Alaric looked between them with surprise, he'd almost classify their comments as…teasing? Dare he think it?

"Wow," He breathed, immediately attracting the attention of both black-haired persons. "Near death experiences really do bring people closer together."

"It was not a near death experience," Rei corrected him, gliding down the steps with enviable grace. "A few broken bones, some superficial cuts," She waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Practically, nothing."

"I'm impressed, princess," Damon cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. "I wouldn't have pegged you to have a strong constitution."

Despite being irritated with Rei's blasé attitude, Alaric couldn't help rolling his eyes at Damon's comment. "Oh please, she stuck a pen in you, didn't she?" Ignoring the glare the vampire shot him, he turned to face Rei. "Did you get drunk last night? Because you're practically sweating tequila." He asked, genuinely curious.

Green eyes blinked at him, "The fact that you can name the alcohol I consumed last night is scary, Alaric." She deadpanned.

"I knew what you drank-"

"Yes, blue eyes, but that's either due to your enhanced senses, which would be cheating, or your eavesdropping this morning, which would be immoral. In any case," She raised her voice slightly seeing Damon open his mouth to reply. "None of that has any bearing on why I came here this morning." She clasped her hands in front of her, fixing Damon with an intense stare. "Caroline tells me that I have you to thank for my miraculous recovery."

At that, Alaric's head snapped around to stare at the elder Salvatore brother with surprise. When Damon had called him last night to let him know what had happened, correctly guessing that no one had thought to inform him, the vampire had left out that little detail. He hadn't said that Caroline fed Rei her blood but he'd certainly implied it.

Damon shifted, his posture becoming tense as he held out a hand. "Okay, now before you blow up at me, yes, vampire Barbie did tell me that you didn't want to be fed our blood, but in all fairness, that's stupid." He shrugged unapologetically. "I saved you from having to explain your injuries, hospital costs, um, the discomfort of multiple broken bones…" The vampire trailed off, very clearly searching his mind for any other positives he might have missed.

"Damon," Rei interrupted. Walking forward, she grabbed one of the vampire's hands in both of hers. Alaric's eyebrows shot up with surprise. "Thank-you." She said strongly.

The look of total stupefaction on Damon's face as he looked between earnest green eyes and their joined hands, at a complete loss for words, was almost too much. He bit his lip to keep the laughter that was bubbling up from escaping, knowing from experience that reminding the vampire that he had an audience right now wouldn't do anyone any good. The elder Salvatore might even do something stupid, like lash out.

"Whatever," Damon suddenly scoffed, shaking his hand free of her grasp. "I knew you'd change your mind."

Rei smirked, "…Of course you did."

Reaching up to flick down her sunglasses, wisely choosing not to call him on his uncharacteristic lack of charm, she turned on her heel to leave.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that she didn't believe him.

"Try to stay out of trouble!" Alaric called after her.

"Will do." Without turning her head Rei gave them a wave over her shoulder. "…And thanks again, Damon!" She repeated, just before pulling the front door closed behind her.

…

"So, how does this work exactly?" Jeremy asked, looking down at Luka's unconscious figure apprehensively.

Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm going to perform a spell that will let me question him. Hopefully, we'll figure out what Elijah really wants."

God, she wished that Rei had waited until after she'd gone through with this to say something.

Bonnie knew that it was the right thing to do, that hadn't changed. What she did wouldn't hurt Luka and it was essential that they discover more information if they could. Still, that didn't stop the slight churning in her stomach as she remembered the easy, friendly smile he'd looked at her with as he'd so trustingly taken the drink she'd offered him.

"Sounds good," Jeremy nodded, stuffing his hands in the back pocket of his jeans.

Catching Caroline's knowing eyes she couldn't help feeling grateful that the blonde was here. With a shared nod, the two girls focused back on their task. Both feeling justified in what they were doing, both experiencing the same pinpricks of guilt for the way it had to be done.

"Stand back," Bonnie swept an arm out, lighting the candles around the room.

…

"Where is Elena?" Elijah inquired calmly.

Damon clenched his jaw, hating the question almost as much as the vampire it had come from.

"Safe with, Stefan. They're laying low. We had a little trouble with some werewolves recently, she wanted to get away."

"I heard about that," The Original admitted as he inspected the room, running his eyes over the expensive pieces littering the Lockwood study with slight interest.

"I'm sure you did," Damon forced his mouth to pull up into a smirk, the mild expression feeling strange on his lips when he was feeling so antagonistic. "Since it was your warlock that saved the day."

Elijah looked up, his eyes glinting. "You are welcome. Though I was surprised to hear who their captives were." He looked at Damon expectantly, as if he possessed the answer to his question. "Jonas tells me that the human girl, Rei Potter, was even unconscious by the time he arrived." There was something in his voice as he said that, a certain disbelief, as if he were questioning the truthfulness of his warlock's account.

Damon frowned, confused. "Does it matter?" He snapped, impatient to return to the subject of Elena.

Brown eyes flickered over to his in silent warning, "Perhaps. Was she hurt?" He asked seriously.

Damon breathed out angrily, curbing his temper with effort. "Yes, she was. I fed her my blood though, so she's right as rain." The genuine surprise that passed across the Original's face at his answer had him narrowing his eyes. "Why do you care?"

Why was Elijah even asking about Rei?

But the man had apparently finished with their conversation.

"Why don't you concentrate on keeping Elena safe?" Peering out the glass doors, his impatience was obvious as he turned to leave the room. "Leave the rest to me."

Despising the fact that he'd just been summarily dismissed, as if he were nothing more than a nuisance, Damon blurred in front of the Original, blocking the exit.

"That's not good enough," He growled softly.

Elijah gave him a long look before suddenly grabbing him by the throat, pinning him against the wall. The amount of pressure being brought to bear on his trachea was incredible and in some sort of effort to reciprocate the feeling, he snapped up his hand, curling it around his opponent's neck. Seemingly without effort, Elijah grasped his hand and turned it away, breaking his wrist as if the bone was nothing more than a matchstick.

"Young vampires," The Original breathed angrily, shaking his head with patronising disapproval. "So, arrogant."

"You can't kill me," Damon gasped out, the words difficult to form past the iron hold of the vampire's hand. "It's not part of the deal!"

"Silence," Elijah rolled his eyes.

Moving with speed he couldn't hope to match or follow, the Original suddenly grasped a pencil on the desk and shoved it through his neck.

Ice blue orbs shot open.

He gasped, the sudden, piercing agony choking him. The sensation of blood travelling into his lungs, excruciating.

Elijah dropped him.

"I'm an Original," Over his coughing and spluttering he could barely hear his words. "Show a little respect."

From the corner of his eye he glimpsed the vampire holding out an expensive, white handkerchief to him, as if it wasn't his fault he was bleeding all over the place! Snatching it out of his hand, Damon pressed the cloth to his wound, silently wishing that his already accelerated healing was faster.

"Keep Elena safe," Elijah ordered coldly. "Because the moment you cease to be of use to me, you're dead."

With a snarl, Damon glanced up, his eyes rebellious, only to find the study completely empty, no sign of the Original.

Growling, he threw the blood drenched rag aside and stalked from the room, his thoughts entirely focused on that bottle of white oak ash and the silver dagger he had hidden safely away in the Boarding House.

…

Jules glanced over her shoulder, making sure that Tyler was far enough away that he wouldn't overhear them talking.

She turned back to the young male werewolf in front of her, chewing on her lip with indecision. Brady had insisted that Deacon was the man for the job, and unfortunately, she knew exactly why.

Her lover didn't trust anyone, not even pack, when it came to fetching the doppelgänger. She knew that he meant it too, because ordinarily, she wouldn't have been able to stop him from going after the human girl himself. Not with the way he was still seething about last night. Convinced that she'd had something to do with the fire that had burned him so severely.

But Elena Gilbert was too important to be left to anyone else apparently. So he'd picked the next best thing to being there himself.

Deacon was a calculated choice. Strong, fast and violent, the twenty-nine year old revelled in his animal nature. He wouldn't be gentle, that was for sure.

"She's obviously very valued by the vampires in this town," She explained, wringing her hands in an effort to dispel her growing guilt. It was one thing to lock her in a cage while Brady tried to get her to talk. Deacon might not even bother. "I have a feeling that she'll know where they've hidden the moonstone."

Deacon nodded, a lop-sided grin on his face as he glanced over at Tyler behind her. "It'll be my pleasure," He smirked.

Jules swallowed but nodded. Pulling out her phone she showed him the address they'd gotten from the blonde vampire's list of contacts.

"It's remote,...you shouldn't have a problem," She told him stiffly.

…

_So Exciting! :D _


	14. Have At It!

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

...

_Thank-you to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it! ;D_

...

_There are many stories that attempt to explain the birth of the vampire species. Some say they are older than men, cursed by those with magic to live in the shadows. Others believe they are the descendants of demons and mortals combined. Then there are those who try to convince others of the creatures evolutionary superiority, believing immortality to be the highest pinnacle of development._

_It is the accounts from the time of the Founders that truly interest this author. Priceless scraps of parchment from the library of Rowena Ravenclaw describe a new species they had never before encountered. Monsters that drained their victims of blood, that couldn't abide the sun. Accounts of these 'strange new creatures' weren't confined to the British Isles either, every corner of the wizarding world were beginning to record sights of similar monsters. _

_It is because of this that many of my colleagues, past and present, have speculated that 'the vampire' rose to prominence at that time. Just over one thousand years ago. _

Rei ran her finger over the words swiftly, scanning the pages with her eyes, trying to locate the information she'd been searching for, for the past two hours now.

Defence Against the Dark Arts had always been her primary interest in school, she'd probably read more on the subject than even Hermione had. There just wasn't another branch of magic that was able to captivate her like this one did. Of course, like anyone else, there were countless aspects of charms, transfiguration, even potions, that fascinated her. She wasn't disputing that. But when it came to DADA, she loved it all. And when she'd moved to America, most of her favourite books made the journey with her.

She'd flicked through more than fifteen volumes on Dark creatures already, trying to the find the obscure passage Rei knew she'd read. Growling, she shoved aside Sharon Thomas' 'A Journey Into the Wilds of the East', and reached for the next book on the pile, flipping it open.

She hadn't been reading longer than five minutes when she found it.

Hastily bringing the book closer to her face, she squinted at the pages, finding it made the irritatingly small print easier to decipher.

…_What is even more interesting are the whispers our world have come to hear from the vampires themselves. _

_Mutterings of those they call 'The Originals'. The ones they believe to be the genesis of their species…Nothing has ever been proved. Many academics have thrown scorn on the theory, believing these 'Originals' to be nothing more than myth. Even in the vampire community it is clear that there exists no one accepted belief. _

_From the little we have been able to garner over the years, most vampires seem to believe these Originals the oldest of their kind, if not the first..._

Flipping the page over, determined to find out more, Rei almost screamed with frustration when she saw the next paragraph had been dedicated to the rumours of cross-species breeding.

"Great," She muttered, pushing her hair back angrily she clambered to her feet, her muscles stiff from sitting on the wood floor for the past two hours.

Tapping her finger against her lip she scowled up at the ceiling.

"I knew his name though…" Rei murmured to herself.

She knew, somewhere, hidden in the hundreds of books she'd brought with her was more information. Information that named these Originals. Maybe someone had told her? Tilting her head speculatively to the side, she tried to cast her mind back, tried to associate what she knew of that family with a face from her past. Albus? Moody? Remus? They didn't ring a bell, but…

The abrupt interruption of her door bell echoed through the house, destroying her train of thought.

Scowling, she stomped out of the attic and down the stairs, trying to calm her temper as she went. It wouldn't do to frighten the person that was calling on her, now would it?

The doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming!" She yelled, only for the door bell to ring again.

Merlin, what ever happened to patience?!

Just as she was coming to end of the stairs, the front door just ahead of her, the bell rang again, but this time, the person was obviously holding the button down because the annoying chiming didn't stop.

Rei halted, her eyes narrowing on the closed-door suspiciously.

Her breathing instinctively quietened as she shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet.

Moving through the hall and into the adjacent living room with a silence she had long since perfected, Rei sidled up to the white, sheer curtains, keeping her small frame pressed against the wall to avoid casting shadows in the dusk light. Pushing her body even closer to the wall's corner, steady fingers reached out to flick back the edge of the thin curtain.

Rei's mouth tightened at the sight that greeted her through the clear glass panes.

Four men were circled around her closed front door, all of them varying degrees of brawny.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," The largest male, the clear leader of this little troupe, smirked wickedly at his companions as he removed his finger from the doorbell. "We've got some things we'd like to discuss with you."

Eyes cold, Rei released her hold on the sheer curtain, letting it fall back into place.

...

Damon came to with hiss of pain. It was only when he tried to raise his hand to his eyes and something stopped him that his mind caught up and his eyes flew open.

A mousy boy he'd never seen before grinned down at him. "Morning sunshine," He sung jovially.

Damon scowled, opening his mouth to deliver the stinging insult on the tip of his tongue when, all of a sudden, he froze.

Rick!

As if summoned by the mere thought of his name, ice blue orbs inadvertently locked on the dead body of his friend lying at his feet. A swift, frantic glance at the history teacher's hand calming him barely seconds later. He was wearing his ring.

"Well," Damon coughed. "This is different."

Jules stalked into the room, a long gun at her side.

"Nice to see you again, Damon," She smiled sarcastically.

"Jules," He glared at her blackly, the image of Rose's pained face flashing in front of his eyes as he stared up at her killer. "I'd say it's a pleasure, but my Mother told me never to lie."

"Cute," She brought the shotgun up, aiming it at his chest. "Where's the moonstone?"

A bloody grin spread across his lips, he couldn't help it. "You have no idea how ironic this is." He barked out a laugh. "And for the record, I don't have it."

Her eyes darted over to the mousy boy and suddenly his neck was jerked to the right, sharp wooden nails digging deeply into the vulnerable flesh of his throat. He groaned, gritting his teeth against the scream that wanted out. He refused to give the bitch the satisfaction!

"Don't play games with me," Jules took a threatening step forward. "I know you have it. Tell me where it is."

The pressure on the chain around his neck abated, letting him draw in a beautiful, unneeded breath.

"You're like a dog after a bone, aren't you?" He wheezed mockingly. "Isn't that just typical? I realise that I've been alive a few more years that you Jules, but I'm pretty sure 'getting your facts straight', is lesson number one in torturing someone for information."

Instead of flying into a rage as he'd been hoping the werewolf smiled darkly, her golden brown eyes glinting with barely restrained malice as she stared him down.

"I have a feeling that your little green-eyed girlfriend will be more than willing to tell us what we want to know." Damon froze. Jules's grin widened as she caught his reaction. "Deacon isn't exactly the most patient of people, he'll get the location of the moonstone out of her soon enough. And then I won't have to torture you for information, vampire. This can just be for fun."

Icy dread seemed to spread through his body like quicksilver as she talked.

"You sent people after her?" He stated lowly. "After a human?!" Jules shrugged, but he caught the flash of guilt in her eyes. "She doesn't know anything!" Damon shouted furiously, pulling at the cuffs that bound him to the chair. "We don't have the moonstone, okay?! It wasn't where Mason had hidden it! She doesn't kno-!" Sharp wooden spikes suddenly pierced his newly healed neck, cutting him off viciously as the chain was pulled back sharply.

"You want them to leave her alone Damon?" Jules asked, her voice almost a croon. "Just tell me where the stone is, and I make the call…She's such a small thing. Against four werewolves, she doesn't stand a chance."

...

A vicious growl, followed by the crashing noise of a door being forced open as the lock broke resounded through the house. Rei didn't look up from the steak knife she was busy shoving up her cardigan sleeve.

"I can smell you," The baritone laugh was loud in the sudden silence.

Rei spun around, grabbing the carving knife hanging above her stove.

"Boo!" A breath ghosted past her ear, the male body it belonged to quivering with excitement at her back. She didn't hesitate.

With a small grunt of effort, Rei drove the carving knife back, imbedding it deeply into the person's soft middle. Turning around, she glared at the wide-eyed man standing in front of her and twisted the handle sharply, driving the metal in deeper.

He screamed.

"You little bitch!" A brown-haired man came tearing round the kitchen island, his black eyes furious as he took in the damage she'd done to his friend.

Thinking quickly, she shoved the gravelly injured werewolf into the man's arms and jumped up onto the counter, sliding to the other side. Before she could blink a third body was in front of her, and this one she recognised.

"Not so fast there, little girl," The man who had rung incessantly at her door grinned down at her cruelly. The leader. "We'd like a chat with you."

…

"You bitch," Damon spat, fury practically leaking out of him as he glared up at her.

Jules smiled, clearly finding humour in his rage. "You know the thing about buckshot? It spreads throughout the entire body, maximum damage." Her face hardened. "Where's the moonstone?"

"Perhaps, I might be of assistance?"

Ignoring the fiery pain in his neck, Damon turned to look at the owner of that familiar, cultured voice with effort.

Elijah stood in the middle of the cavernous library, his expression blank and infuriatingly calm.

"Who are you?" Jules demanded.

"Unimportant," The Original waved her question away. "You are interested in the moonstone's whereabouts?"

Damon glared at her darkly when the female werewolf's eyes flickered over to him, as if for guidance.

The mutt could rot in hell for all he cared!

"…You have it," She guessed softly. Her eyes, for the first time, uncertain.

…

"Where's the moonstone?"

Rei raised an eyebrow and looked behind her. The man she'd stabbed was healing, that was obvious, but she'd done some real damage with her attack and his friend was having to carry him. The fourth man had appeared as well, eyeing her with a look that set her teeth on edge.

She turned back to face the leader of the group.

"What makes you think I have it?" She asked, her mind turning over as she used the time to plan.

"We didn't," He leaned closer to her and laughed, his breath putrid on her face. "At least, not until you just said that."

Without effort, Rei allowed a supremely condescending expression to slowly transform her features, knowing that with the ego this man _clearly _possessed, he wouldn't be able to handle it. Her lips curled up at the corners just a little, carefully composed evidence of mocking amusement while her eyelids drooped, a lazy haze entering her eyes as she looked up at him.

There was no fear on her face, no bravery either. There was only simple, infuriating disregard.

His smile dropped.

"Why are you looking at me like that?!" He growled angrily, his large hands fisting at his sides, trembling with the effort to keep them there. "…Stop looking at me like that!"

"Deacon," One of the men behind her spoke his name warningly, a silent message to control his temper.

Rei's eyes flashed to the glass panels over his shoulder, her large back garden outstretched behind it. If she could just…

"Like what?" While her voice was innocent, and the only thing those behind her would hear, she allowed the smallest smirk to pull up the left side of her mouth. Blatantly provoking him.

…

Elijah canted his head to the side, one eyebrow raised as he regarded Jules.

"No," He answered crisply. "But then neither do the Salvatores."

The group of wolves exchanged slow, bewildered glances, unsure whether or not to believe the confident vampire that showed such a disturbing lack of fear in their presence, despite being outnumbered.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Damon took his chance and spoke up. "They've sent people over to Rei's house!" He called out, urgency colouring his voice.

Dark, fathomless eyes immediately focused on him, a slight frown wrinkling the previously blank face.

"Please," The word almost got stuck in his throat, his pride fighting against begging the Original for anything. "She's just human, they'll tear her apart."

Elijah regarded him in silence before his eyes flicked around the room to take in his unwelcome guests.

He chuckled.

Damon's jaw dropped, staring at the Original with mute horror before he finally managed to find words again. "She's on Elena's list!" He growled, yanking furiously at the cuffs holding him still, his temper rising with alarming speed.

The man was standing there, laughing, while Rei was probably being torn apart for not being able to answer their questions!

"You misunderstand my amusement, Damon," Elijah replied calmly. Walking slowly towards the werewolves, his eyes dark. "I'm sure that Miss Potter can take care of herself." He stated with absolute confidence.

Jules laughed, immediately attracting the Original's attention.

"Like she could take care of herself yesterday? Like she could take care of herself when Brady broke her wrist or she passed out from blood loss?"

Damon glared at her, his eyes slits.

It was Elijah's reaction that surprised him though.

Without warning, the vampire ripped out the hearts of the two werewolves he'd been steadily approaching and grabbed Jules in a chokehold, raising her off the ground so her feet dangled in mid-air.

"Are you telling me that _Rei Potter_," He emphasised her name like it should mean something to them beyond the obvious. "Was conscious while you tortured her?" His voice was still smooth, utterly in control, but there was a disgust that coated his words which Damon just couldn't make sense of.

...

With a growl, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her body close to his own, glaring down at her.

"Deacon!" This time it was a different voice that spoke up from behind and Rei had to hide her smile of satisfaction by looking down. "Come on, there's no need for that…she's human."

"She stuck a knife in Frank!" The man who had a painful hold on her spat back. "Stop being such a coward, Simon."

Knowing that it was time for her speak up, Rei gave a small tug on her wrist and let water pool in her eyes as she glanced over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry! Please! You scared me, I just reacted!" Her face was miserable, absolutely terrified, and she saw all three of them falter. Turning back around she looked up at the leader with eyes bereft of fear. "I never meant to hurt anyone!" Her voice was trembling as she stared up at him with a cocked eyebrow, daring him to do something.

She saw his hand rise above him and, ruthlessly pushing down her anger, purposefully let it connect with her cheek.

"That's enough!" One of the men behind her leapt forward, pushing the leader away from her forcefully. "Jesus Deacon, you're not Brady! Don't act like him!"

Rei clutched both hands to her face, letting the tears fall and her chest heave with distress. Merlin, it hurt! She had to look down at the floor, unable to hide her venomous glare from the world. The werewolf hadn't held back, that was for sure! Had he been trying to break her jaw?!

"She's playing you!" The leader yelled, shoving back the guy that had intervened.

"If anyone has a right to be mad here, it's me," The man she'd knifed stepped forward gingerly. "I say that we ask what we came here to ask, and be on our way."

Rei threw him a quick look, surprised by the considering light in his eyes. She wouldn't be so charitable towards someone who had plunged a knife into her, that was for sure.

"I'm in charge," The leader suddenly growled, fixing his pack-mates with challenging amber eyes. "I call the shots here. If anyone has a problem with that they can challenge me to a fight, otherwise, shut your cake-holes."

There was a darkness in his eyes that Rei recognised in that moment, a sadism that made her heart sink.

She'd miscalculated.

They wouldn't cross him. Even if they wanted to, self-preservation wouldn't allow it. Her hand tightened on the knife they'd stupidly forgotten to take off of her, knowing that she'd have to act when the moment came. It was one of the hardest things she ever learned in the war. You couldn't let pity rule you, not if you wanted to survive.

She wasn't surprised when all three werewolves eventually looked down, baring their necks to show their submission, just disappointed. But she took the chance it afforded her with both hands.

Without hesitation, she brought the carving knife up and slashed it deeply across the throat of the man standing closest to her, making sure that the cut was deep enough that even with accelerated healing he wouldn't be getting back up.

The man fell to his knees, gasping as the blood poured from his massacred throat. Yells of shock filled the kitchen instantly, his comrades leaping back with alarm. Rei was already moving. Purposefully not looking at the face, the knife left her hand with confidence and pierced through the second man's throat, the wound fatal.

Strong hands grabbed her forearm, swinging her around and into the wall. The putrid breath she smelt told her exactly who forced her elbow up and behind her back, pushing down hard.

Ears ringing with the force of the knock to her head, she vaguely heard someone shout about checking the perimeter as she caught her breath.

"Just you and I, sweetheart," The leader breathed in her ear, his voice husky. "Dangerous little thing, aren't you? Don't mind spilling a little blood to get your way. We're similar like that." Rei jerked back when a wet tongue suddenly licked up her cheek to her temple. "...Pretty too," He groaned.

Lips pulling back into a snarl, Rei drove her pointed elbow into his stomach as hard as she could, the unexpected attack making him loosen his hold on her just enough for her to rip her arm free. She spun around, bringing her knee up to connect with his groin as she went.

His eyes widened impossibly, his body instinctively moving to a protective fourty-five degree angle. Rei withdrew the steak knife from her sleeve with one smooth motion, her eyes focusing on the part of his chest that she knew hid his heart as she brought it whistling down through the air.

A hand caught her arm, yanking it down and away.

"Oh no you don't," The fourth werewolf, Simon, spat at her, grabbing her wrist in an ever-increasing pressure until Rei had no choice but to drop the knife with a pained gasp, her fingers completely numb.

She glared at him darkly before darting a quick look in the direction of the leader that he'd saved through his annoyingly timely intervention. With murder practically leaking from his eyes, the huge werewolf staggered to his feet and approached her, obviously having recovered from her low blow.

"Miss Potter?" A masculine voice called urgently down the hall.

Her head snapped to the left. From where she was standing in the kitchen she could see all the way down to the empty rectangular space her front door used to stand in. Emerald eyes widened.

"Invite me in," Elijah ordered lowly, his eyes narrowed on the two werewolves that were circling her.

"Vampire," The leader growled, looking very much like his wolf half as he sniffed the air.

Elijah fixed dark eyes on her two attackers, face tense and his jaw clenched. "If the lady in your grasp comes to any more harm at your hands gentlemen, I can promise you that you will not live to see the dawn."

Simon's grip on her hand suddenly strengthened and he went to tug her forward, a mocking expression on his face as he eyed the vampire.

Acting fast, Rei swept her leg out, taking his feet from under him. Scrambling for the knife he'd forced her to drop earlier, an iron arm suddenly swept around her waist and jerked her back against a hard chest.

"Piss off vampire," The leader ordered with a growl, his two large hands settling on either side of her head, poised to snap her neck. "Or I swear to God, I'll do it."

"What?" Rei hissed furiously, toes barely touching the ground. "And once I'm dead he can come in at his leisure and kill you? Moron!"

"Shut-up!" He shook her roughly, the action far more painful than it had any right to be with his tight grip on her head.

"Miss Potter," Elijah spoke directly to her. "Invite-me-in."

She scoffed as best she could, "No way, Mr Original." Her eyes roaming the area as her mind worked frantically for a plan. "I can handle this myself."

"Do you think this is a joke?!" The leader trembled with fury behind her, the pressure he was exerting on her temples incredible.

"Rei!" Elijah actually shouted, seeing her pain. "Invite me inside, now!"

"You want to help so much?!" Rei spat.

Twisting her body up, she hooked a foot behind the leader's ankle and pulled with all her strength. He lost his footing, his arms immediately letting go of her head in order to steady himself. Rei spun around and planted both her hands on his chest.

"Have at it!" She met the leader's surprised eyes with a lethal glare before shoving him backwards.

He barely had time to fling his arms out in a last, desperate effort to stop himself from falling before he hit the glass panel with an explosive crash, his body landing awkwardly on her wooden porch outside, covered in glass fragments.

Elijah was there barely a second later, plunging his hand into the werewolf's chest with a sick, squelching noise.

A loud war-cry from behind her was all the warning she needed.

Darting to the side, she grabbed the barbecue fork that was sitting on the countertop and drove it down into the gap between the man's throat and his collar-bone as he slid past her.

Her eyes dimmed with sadness as she watched him sway.

He staggered back, hands going to his throat as he crumbled to his knees.

Rei drew in a long, deep breath.

He was looking at a slow, agonising death if she didn't finish the job. She knew that. Rei stepped forward, hardening her heart.

"I can do it," She looked behind her to see the Original watching the scene with knowing eyes, watching her. "You don't need to. Push him out here."

Her eyes became chips of ice as she determinedly turned her back on him and approached the werewolf clawing desperately at his throat, trying to draw in air.

"You think I haven't had to do this before, Mr Mikaelson?" She asked lowly, bending down to pick up the knife he'd forced her to drop. "You think I haven't murdered? Haven't had to go in and finish the job? At least this time they attacked me first, not the other way around." Meeting the brown eyes looking up at her, she saw acceptance and even a little relief in their depths. With swiftness, she drew the blade across his neck, making sure to hit his carotid artery so that he'd bleed out in seconds. "I've done this before." She stated coldly.

"I never intended to imply that you are weak, Miss Potter." Elijah spoke softly, his voice grave. "Quite the contrary. You certainly have the strength to do what must be done, however, anyone could see that it hurts you to do so."

Rei turned around to face the vampire standing on her porch, unable to enter her house without an invitation.

"How did you know they would be here?" She asked, ignoring his comment, despising the way his words resonated within her with alarming truthfulness.

"There was some trouble at the Salvatore Boarding House this evening. The female werewolf, Jules, was using the fact of your trespassers as a way to torment Damon. He was quite distressed by the thought of your demise. Strange, considering the last I heard you were injuring him with cutlery at the town's local restaurant."

Rei looked at the bodies at her feet and couldn't find it in her to be amused.

"You know about my magic, I assume?" She stated flatly.

There was no use denying it. As soon as Bonnie and Caroline had told her that the warlock that had saved them last night worked for Elijah, she'd known that someone with as much experience as the vampire opposite her would quickly figure it out. Combined with what he'd just seen, his knowledge was hardly a question anymore.

"Yes," The Original nodded slowly, his eyes running over her figure with curiousity. "When Jonas mentioned that the wolves had managed to restrain you, even inflict harm upon you without any real consequences, I suspected. The elder Salvatore's recount of the evening, despite his hostility, did nothing but deepen that suspicion."

Rei looked up at him through her lashes, her figure tense. "I'm not a fool. You chose to help me tonight. Why? And don't give me that crap about your deal with Elena, I'm fully aware that its existence is to serve your interests, not hers." She snapped impatiently.

She had seen real, honest concern in him when he had ordered her to invite him inside. He had been worried about her, a virtual stranger. Why?

Elijah shrugged, "You are a remarkable person, Rei Potter. Both your experiences and the little time I have spent in your company have made that all too clear…Your magic might not be at its strongest right now, but I would not see a person as honourable as yourself brought low by the likes of them."

Rei stared at the vampire mutely, stunned by his honestly.

The Original cleared his throat, "I left Damon Salvatore in his restraints but I doubt that shall hold him for much longer." He commented wryly before glancing at her seriously. "…Your secret is safe with me, Miss Potter." He bowed his head in that old-world way about him, and Rei felt her lips twitch.

He turned to leave.

"Elijah!" She called out, inwardly cursing herself for once again raising her voice. He turned back, cocking his head to show he was listening. Rei bit her lip before nodding to herself, happy with her decision. "I believe that you are looking for a moonstone?"

All at once, his face became stone.

With speed her eyes couldn't hope to follow, he was suddenly a mere arms breadth away from her. His body hovering as close to the barrier blocking his entrance to her home as physically possible.

"You have it?" He breathed, eyes dark and hopeful.

She nodded once.

Elijah smiled dryly, shaking his head. "I might have known."

"The amount of magic the stone harbours is difficult to hide," She admitted unapologetically. Something that powerful ought to have been hidden more carefully. "I just need to know one thing," He nodded at her. "...Will I regret giving it to you?"

For the first time the vampire hesitated, eyeing her with heavy consideration.

"The curse that Niklaus hopes to break is not the sun and the moon curse," He stated abruptly. Rei raised an intrigued eyebrow at the new information. "It is a curse that was placed solely on him. It inhibits the werewolf side of his DNA, stops it from manifesting as it should. If he should succeed in breaking his curse, he will become a true hybrid of the species, enjoying all the advantages that that status entails."

Eyes wide with shock, Rei instinctively stepped forward.

"A hybrid?" She breathed, horrified. "Half werewolf, half vampire?"

"Yes," He nodded.

Rei swallowed dryly, the thin hairs on her arms standing on end.

"…I'll get it for you." She promised softly, rubbing her arms against the chill that had suddenly overtaken her. "Come by tomorrow morning, early, I'll have it then."

Elijah stared at her in silence, almost as if he were measuring her worth, deciding whether or not to trust her. Rei instinctively straightened her spine, jutting her chin out stubbornly as she glared at him.

He chuckled and inclined his head, "…Thank-you, Miss Potter." With a gust of wind, he was gone.

Barely seconds later, Damon's voice hollered down the hall from the ruined front door. "Rei?!" He shouted urgently. "Rei! Are you alright?!…Rei!"

A hybrid…

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she forced her body to move so that she could see down through the house.

"I'm alright, blue eyes," She called, waving at him as she came round the corner. "A bit worse for wear,...but fine."

…

_Giving the moonstone to Elijah…wonder how everyone else is going to feel about that? _

_(GRIN)_


	15. Sincerely

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

…

Damon pulled furiously at the cuffs binding him to the chair, grunts of effort escaping past his clenched teeth every few seconds as he yanked desperately against the metal.

He needed to get free! Elijah had just blurred out of here without a word, leaving him trapped! Jesus, that blasted Original better be going to help Rei or so help him, he'd….! Groaning with effort, he pulled up with all his strength trying to break the cuffs but they wouldn't budge.

Without warning, the body at his feet suddenly lurched upright with a sharp intake of air.

"Rick! Rick!" Damon called, kicking out with his foot when the man didn't instantly respond, a dazed look in his eyes. "Snap out of it! We've got to get over to Rei's, she's in trouble!"

"Wha-?" Alaric staggered to his feet unsteadily, clutching at his neck. "Rei? What are you talking about, Damon?"

Growling, he pulled at his restraints, "The wolves went to her house, they think she knows where the moonstone is-! For Gods sake! Would you get me out of these things?!" He yelled.

Alaric's eyes widened with horrified understanding and a second later he was tripping over his own feet in his haste to search the pockets of the dead bodies. With a yell of victory he raised the keys into the air and hurried over to release him, Damon growling under his breath the whole time. As soon as the first cuff was open, he pulled up with his other hand, using the strength in both arms to break the second restraint.

"I'll drive!" Rick yelled over his shoulder, jogging out of the room as Damon bent down to rip off the chains circling his ankles.

The very instant he was free Damon was blurring out the still wide-open front door and jumping into the running car waiting for him.

"You know where you're going?" He quickly checked, his hand already reaching for his phone in case he needed to call someone to find out her address.

"Yeah, I do," Rick tore out of the drive, his foot pressed to the floor. "Why the hell did they go after Rei?!" He demanded.

"They thought she would know where the moonstone was, I don't know!" He ran an anxious hand through his hair, wishing that the rusty car could go faster as they turned sharply onto the highway outside of town.

"Christ!" Rick growled, his eyes narrowing on the dark road in front of them, searching for the turnoff. "What happened back there?"

Damon glared through the front windshield, his hands clenching into fists against his knees. "Elijah stopped by. Killed everyone but Jules, who ran away."

Alaric breathed out heavily, his racing heart-beat loud in the silence of the car, Damon's enhanced hearing not allowing him to remain in the dark about the man's fear as they hurtled down the road.

"Here." Pulling sharply into a private drive, the gate securing the property was wide open, the lock smashed beyond repair. "Shit!" The history teacher's panicked curse was nothing compared to the sudden chill that stopped Damon's breath in his chest.

He smelled blood.

The three kilometre drive to the house from the highway was fast, Alaric refusing to slow his speed despite the lack of light or even room in the one lane drive. His lips thinned as the scent of iron in the air grew progressively stronger the closer they travelled.

"Damon!" Alaric raised a shaky hand off the steering wheel and pointed towards the destroyed front door as they came to a screeching stop. His eyes fearful.

Damon didn't wait.

Throwing open the car door, he flashed to the entryway only to bounce back against the barrier denying him entrance. Fuck! He hadn't been invited in!

"Rei!" He yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. He could hear Rick scrambling out of the vehicle behind him, the human's breathing laboured and fast as he sprinted up the steps. "Rei! Are you alright?!" It felt strange to use her given name but he just couldn't bring himself to use the nickname he'd assigned her, the one he'd intended as an insult but had ultimately become something entirely different.

The smell of blood was overpowering now.

A faint glint of light from the corner of his eyes instantly caught his attention. Damon swallowed dryly. Reflecting off a puddle of red liquid down the hall was a broken lamp light but nothing which might explain where it was coming from.

"Rei!" He shouted, at his wit's end.

He could hear a heartbeat, but…it was alone, and calm. Dread tightened the muscles across his chest, making it difficult to draw breath.

"I'm alright, blue eyes, " An accented voice broke the silence. Alaric, who had frozen at his side with horror when he saw the wreckage, startled, his heart jumping. A petite, raven-haired girl poked her head around the corner and waved at them. "A bit worse for wear, but fine." She sighed.

Damon felt all the air leave his lungs in a rush, his shoulders physically sagging with the pure relief that swept through him at that moment. She looked tired, bruised and dirty, her hair was an absolute mess with only half the braid still intact, but she was alive. Probably traumatised beyond belief, but alive.

"Come in," Rei waved at them tiredly.

Rick hadn't waited for the invitation. As soon as she'd called out, the man had crossed the threshold, stalking quickly down the corridor towards her.

Damon entered slowly, cautiously. If she was fine, why could he smell blood? A lot of blood. His eyes travelled over the pulverised splinters of the once sturdy front door as he moved steadily through the house.

"Holy Crap!"

His head snapped up at the sound of Rick's shocked exclamation to see the middle-aged man standing frozen just inside what he assumed was the kitchen. His stubble filled face was slack, jaw hanging open with horror as stared wide-eyed at something Damon couldn't see.

He flashed forward, stopping at his friend's side.

Nothing could have prepared him for the picture he saw. Three bodies, all dead, were laying in varying awkward positions on the hard-wood floor. The kitchen was destroyed. Blood seemed to coat every available surface, tainting everything in sight.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Damon's eyes moved to pierce Rei's silent figure.

"What the hell happened here?" He breathed out, stepping further into the room.

Emerald green orbs tossed him a dark look. "I'd think that was fairly obvious," She stated with irritation. "They broke in, threatened me, I defended myself."

"These people are dead," He flung out an arm at the bodies. "Are you telling me that not only did you, a five foot nothing twig, manage to defend yourself against three werewolves, but also killed them?!"

She folded her arms, eyes flashing. "Four, actually."

"What?" Alaric finally spoke up, his eyes confused.

"Four werewolves," She explained. "Though that one had nothing to do with me."

His eyes narrowed with suspicion. Stalking towards the broken glass door that she'd lifted her chin to, he peered through the empty rectangular frame. Laying face-up, eyes wide open and blank, was the fourth and largest male of the group, a hole punched through his chest.

"Elijah, I presume?" He murmured to himself.

"That's what he introduced himself as, yes," Rei nodded at him, having caught the question.

"It's not that unbelievable, Damon," Rick defended her quickly, having finally gotten over the shock of multiple dead bodies. "Rei's no slouch when it comes to self-defence, she can fight dirty. If they weren't expecting it…" He trailed off and Damon nodded his acceptance. He was right. The element of surprise was a big advantage and the wolves wouldn't have been expecting the small, black-haired girl to do anything but curl up in a ball screaming.

"That's great and all, but mind telling me why I'm being attacked by random supernatural members of the public?" She fixed them both with an expectant look.

Rick groaned, pressing his hands to his eyes. "They want the moonstone." He explained, his voice short, frustrated. "Think we have it. They probably saw you hanging out with us and assumed they could get its location out of you, a human, more easily than any of us."

"Not to mention that you live alone and are, well…" Damon waved a hand at her, ignoring the dirty look she shot him.

"I see," Rei crossed her arms.

Still, he frowned in thought, shooting the bruised girl a subtle glance, that didn't explain why they had originally chosen to kidnap her in particular to begin with.

"Any chance you guys can help me deal with…this?" She levelled the bodies with an unreadable look when she said this and Damon breathed out a small sigh of relief.

He was beginning to seriously worry there for a second. It wasn't normal not to react in any real way to killing three people, no matter the circumstances. Not for a human anyway.

Rei had seemed so…unchanged by what she'd had to do, it was eerie.

"Yeah, I'll handle it," He ran a hand through his hair, glaring at the dead bodies bitterly. He hated the fact that they'd gone after her, just to get to them, to him. They had no right dragging a human into their business, let alone a human he…sort of...liked. Which was a rare thing for him damn it!

Looking at her closely, he asked the question that Alaric already had numerous times now.

"You alright?"

Emerald eyes regarded him in silence for a long moment, a moment that betrayed her more than she probably knew. There was a sad resignation in her eyes. Not depression, she wasn't going to start weeping, not even close. But there was a deep sadness for the fact that she'd had to do what she did.

"I'm fine," She nodded curtly, looking away from him swiftly.

Normally, he'd scoff. He'd poke and prod at the wound that she was pretending wasn't there until she admitted the truth, either in an angry yell or a crying mess, but not this time. For whatever reason, she'd accepted what she'd done, absolutely and totally, he'd seen it. There wasn't any emotional turmoil to help her through. She would handle her feelings about this by herself, that was clear.

Damon looked down at the ground feeling oddly useless in that moment.

"Alaric?" Rei suddenly frowned, stepping towards the high school history teacher with an outstretched hand. "Is that blood?" she demanded, pushing aside his jacket so that the blood stain on his collar was no longer hidden. Her expression turned icy. "What the hell happened?" She scowled.

"Same thing that happened to you apparently," Rick sighed, gently breaking her hold. "Except that they managed to get the drop on me."

Sharp emerald orbs abruptly lifted to lock with his.

"Elijah did mention that you'd had some problems," Rei mused out loud. His head snapped up at those words. "Didn't say anything about Alaric being there though."

Silence encompassed the destroyed kitchen, the tension thick.

"Elijah spoke to you?" Damon stepped forward, the energy that had drained from him muscles when he'd seen her alive returning swiftly. "You're kidding?!" He shared a bewildered look with Rick over her head. "What did he say?"

"Nothing," She waved her hand in the air impatiently. "Can we deal with this?" She looked pointedly at the dead bodies at their feet but he ignored her, his attention entirely derailed by the mention of the Original vampire.

"What did he tell you?! It could be important!"

Irritation flashed across her eyes, "Important to who?" She asked slowly.

"Elijah's a bad guy, Rei." Rick stepped in, obviously sensing that this could easily turn into an argument if left to run its natural course. "Did he say anything that might be hel-"

"A bad guy?" She cut him off with a sarcastic bark of laughter. "The people who attacked me tonight were bad guys. Your big bad Original? He helped me." Her voice was confident, stubborn as she said this, and Damon could feel his temper rising the longer he listened.

"Are you insane?!" He burst out. "The man stuck a pen through my neck not four hours ago!"

"And something tells me that that probably wasn't entirely undeserved, Damon," She raised her eyebrow at him challengingly.

Blurring forward until his nose was mere inches away from hers, he lowered his voice and spoke his next words very slowly. "He can't be trusted. He doesn't give a crap what happens to some random human. The fact that he came here and actually helped you only makes me more suspicious of his motives, not less!" He growled in her face.

Rei met his heated stare head-on, her eyes cool. "Bonnie and Caroline told me about the deal Elena made with him, Damon. He's keeping up his end of the bargain, staying true to his word. Why are you, every one of you, so quick to believe the worst of him, huh? I don't know the details of the situation by any degree of the imagination, but-"

"No, you don't." He snapped rudely, interrupting her. "You don't know anything about this! Elena is the doppelgänger. It's _her _blood that's needed to break the curse, and the person she's putting all her trust in clearly has his own agenda!"

Emerald eyes flashed angrily, un-intimidated. "Putting aside the fact that you have absolutely no proof to back that up, even if it was true, how do you know that his 'agenda' doesn't match up with yours?" She asked quietly.

"We don't know what he's like, Rei." Rick pushed him aside none too gently, shooting him a look that said, 'back off'. "All we know is that he's somehow involved with Klaus. He knows an awful lot about the sun and the moon curse, including the ritual that breaks it, and he made a deal with Elena that doesn't make sense. You have to admit…it doesn't sound good."

Damon watched with aggravation as she visibly cooled in response to Alaric's rational words. What? She'd listen to Rick but not him?! He'd said exactly the same thing, dammit!…Practically.

Rei nodded shortly. "He didn't say anything," She stated curtly, her tone final. "He came, ripped out a heart and blew off again, that's all."

Ice-blue eyes narrowed.

"That's all?" He echoed disbelievingly. A threatening edge to his voice, as the memory of her saying that the Original had mentioned there'd been trouble at the boarding house, ran through his mind.

She wasn't even putting effort into her lie!

Exhaling harshly, Rei pinned him in place with a powerful glare. "Don't try to bully me, Damon, I don't take kindly to it…I judge people on what I see and experience, not rumours. I'm sorry, but I won't change the way I do things just because you want me to. I learned that the hard way. And what I know, is that Elijah has helped me twice now."

Pushing down his increasing frustration with effort, Damon clenched his hands into fists, using the sharp pain of his nails cutting into skin to ground himself. Jesus! Why was she being so stubborn?! Her thoughtless actions could endanger Elena, didn't she get that?! She was being all moral and high-handed like this was some sort of play, but it wasn't! This was the real world, and in the real world, things were ugly.

Damon glared at her furiously, the urge to take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her, strong.

"Fine," He stated crisply. "You won't tell me what Elijah told you, you can deal with the dead werewolves by yourself." Spinning on his heel, arms folding across his chest he called over his shoulder. "Let's go, Rick!"

Rei scoffed loudly, the sound easily carrying to his ears. "Very mature, Damon!"

Gritting his teeth, "Rick!" He yelled loudly, looking back expectantly.

The middle-aged hunter gave him an exasperated look, clearly of the same mind as Rei when it came to his behaviour. "Seriously Damon, just help," Alaric sighed tiredly. "So she doesn't agree with everything you think, it's a fact of life."

Not of his life!

Throwing the pair of humans a dirty look, he stalked from the house without a backwards glance.

...

Rei breathed out softly, the cold night wind ruffling her black curls.

"He's gone, Tyler," She murmured quietly, knowing the werewolf would be able to hear her soft words.

Leaves rustled to her left, attracting her attention. From amongst the thick bracken emerged an exhausted looking young man, his dark eyes running over her body with palpable relief.

"…Did they hurt you?" He asked the question hesitantly, his body language skittish, as if he expected her to scream and shout at him to go away.

Tyler's dark gaze was a constant scrutiny, flittering over her frantically as if physically unable to bring himself to stop checking her for injuries.

Rei just shook her head mutely.

He swallowed hard, the movement of his throat visible even from this distance.

"I didn't know," He whispered harshly. "Please, Rei, you have to-I didn't-" He shook his head violently, clenching his eyes shut. She observed him in silence. "I didn't know." He looked down at his open hands, as if meeting her gaze was too hard.

"I believe you," Rei spoke confidently, her voice strong in the night air.

His eyes snapped up, hope blazing within the dark orbs for the first time.

Standing rigid in her pebble courtyard, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, her heart tugged at the all too familiar sight he made. He was so lost.

She exhaled loudly, letting her body completely relax for the first time since those men had broken into her home.

"It's not your fault, Tyler."

"Yeah, it is," He stated flatly, his eyes miserable. "I was the one that told them about Mason having the moonstone. Without me they never would have gone after you, after Elena."

"Elena?" She asked, surprised.

Tyler's brows drew together in confusion, "You don't kno-?" He cut off with abrupt realisation. "I should have known that you wouldn't…Brady and I went to the Gilbert's Lake house…they didn't tell me that she had to die, Rei! Please, you have to believe that!" She frowned at how desperate he seemed. She'd expected guilt and horror, but this level of panic?

"Tyl-"

"Please! Just listen!" He stepped forward hastily, arms outstretched, his eyes wild. "I didn't want to turn anymore!" His voice broke and Rei felt the first stirrings of pained dread as her mind quickly pieced it all together. "They said-they told me that the sun and the moon curse, if we broke it, I wouldn't have to change anymore!"

"You didn't know Elena had to die," She finished for him, her heart aching for the destroyed hope that she now realised was two-fold. "You trusted them, believed them when they told you that you didn't have to live like this." Tyler nodded hollowly at her words, unable to speak past his own bitter disappointment. "I am _so _sorry_, _Tyler."

Dark orbs widened before a choked laugh escaped him, "_You? _You're sorry?" He shook his head. "Jesus, Rei, don't-please don't feel sorry for me. I was an idiot to believe them, to think that there was a way out of this…curse. I just didn't want to live like this."

Without hesitation, Rei crossed the white-pebble courtyard and caught him in a tight hug. The back of her eyes stinging with the sad realisation that he'd believed them only because he so desperately wanted what they were saying to be true.

"Tyler, I know that I can never completely understand just how hard it is to turn into something else once a month, I know that." She squeezed his shoulders tightly when his thick arms wrapped around her waist, holding onto her like she was going to disappear at any moment, leaving him alone. "But if there's one thing I learned from the friend I told you about, it's that you can't let your life be defined by what you are. I don't care how hard it is, how impossible it might seem," She pulled back, her hands grasping his shoulders. "I know that you can live a happy life, Tyler Lockwood."

His eyes hardened, anger flaring, "How am I supposed to do that?!"

"…You find a way not fear the transformation, Tyler." Rei knew that what she was saying was the truth, she'd have known that even without Remus having told her.

No-one could enjoy life if every moment some part of them was dedicated to fearing the inevitable. No-one.

Tyler stared at her in shock, his eyes impossibly wide. "There's no way-" He breathed.

"There is," She cut him off sharply.

He swallowed hard, but finally, finally, he gave one single nod.

Rei leaned closer, her emerald orbs boring into him, not letting him go.

"You just have to want it enough, Tyler," She whispered intensely, her fingers digging into his arms. "You _just_ have to _want_ _it enough_."

…

"No," Bonnie sighed into the phone, rubbing her forehead. "He never intended to save Elena from the ritual. According to what he told the Martins, once the curse is broken Klaus will be vulnerable for a small window of time, that's when he wants to kill him."

_"So he was going to sacrifice Elena this whole time?" _

Looking up into Jeremy's worried eyes she felt her own heart constrict with worry. "Yeah, looks like."

_"Well, at least we can now tell Princess that her knight-in-shining-armour isn't so shiny," _Came the gruff reply.

Her brow twitched with confusion, "What?"

_"Oh, that's right, you don't know. Do me a favour and tell Vampire Barbie for me, won't you? Save me a hysterical call."_

"What are you blathering about-? Did something happen?!" Her grip on the phone tightened, her eyes fluttering shut as she prepared herself for more bad news.

_"You could say that. Seems as though Lockwood Junior's group wasn't the only one that was sent out. They hit the Boarding House, Gilbert Lake retreat, and finally, Mystic Falls' charming international resident."_

Her eyes flew open with horrified understanding. "Oh my God, Rei?" She breathed.

_"She's fine," _Damon was quick to reassure, his tone oddly snide. _"Better than fine, actually."_

"What do you mean?!" She raised her voice, glaring down at the phone's screen heatedly. "How many of them went over there?! Should I go see if she's okay? I should," She nodded to herself quickly, her eyes already frantically searching the Forbes' lounge for her car-keys. "I'll go over there."

_"Rick's over there, Bonnie," _Came the exasperated exhale. _"Look, I need to call Stefan, let him know what you told me about Elijah, alright?" _

Frozen in place with the knowledge that Mr Saltzman was already taking care of her, she nodded jerkily, her mind still trying to process everything that had happened tonight.

_"Still there?" _

Clearing her throat, she coughed, "Yeah, still here."

_"…Thanks, Judgy." _Damon said quietly before hanging up.

"Did something happen at Rei's place?" The unexpected question surprised her, making her jump. She placed a hand over her heart.

"Yes," Her voice was shaky. "Some of the werewolves apparently went over to her house…I don't know," Running a hand through her hair, Bonnie forced her voice to steady. "Damon didn't really tell me any details apart from she's fine, and something about a knight?" God, she was confused.

He nodded slowly, folding his arms. "Well, that's something."

Unbidden, a laugh escaped her. The absurdness of that comment striking her. "That's what we've come to, is it? That a friend of ours is attacked in her home and 'it's something' that she's still breathing?" The inappropriate laughter died quickly under Jeremy's sympathetic eyes.

She turned away.

After a few minutes of silence the male Gilbert finally broached the topic they were both thinking on. "What are we going to do?" He asked out loud.

"…I don't know," Bonnie bit her lip, tugging at the flesh there. "But, at least now we know for sure that Elijah can't be trusted, that's something at least."

"Yeah, now we just need a plan to get us out of this mess," He laughed without humour.

...

Rei narrowed her eyes on the precariously placed water-glass balancing on the oak tree stump, from her position on the other end of her vast garden. The sun was barely touching the tops of the trees that surrounded the property, and the lack of light was making it almost impossible to make out the decorative details on the glass' rim.

A twig snapped behind her.

Without removing her eyes from the drinking implement, Rei raised her voice.

"I trust that the person behind me is a suit wearing Original vampire and no one else," She warned, only half her attention on the individual behind her. The majority of it was too busy internally cursing her lack of success as she glared resentfully at the beautifully formed glass across the grassy expanse.

"What are you doing?" The cultured voice asked curiously.

Scowling, Rei waved her arm at him wildly, silently telling him to shush. She didn't care how rude it was, or how much you should respect your elders. She had a glass to explode, and he'd just have to wait!

Centring herself, she breathed in deeply, emerald orbs intense and angry as they focused on the innocent glass she'd snatched from the kitchen cupboard.

She visualised pouring energy into the tightly packed material. Forcing it to swell. She wanted that energy to have nowhere to go, but out. Everything was constricted. There was simply too much in too small a space. More energy, more magic. Rei breathed in deeply, ignoring the bead of sweat rolling down her back. It was vibrating. Wanting to escape. It needed to. There was no more room. No where else to go. It was splintering. Cracking. Forced out at the sides. There was just too much-!

The explosion was loud in the soft, early morning sunlight, and Rei staggered back with a gasp as the water-glass ripped itself apart, fragments flying everywhere.

A huge grin split her face.

"Yes!" Pumping the air with a fist, she laughed.

"Fascinating."

Spinning around, she cocked an eyebrow at the vampire in silent question.

Elijah lifted his chin at the barely charred tree stump. "Wandless magic? An ambitious goal."

Rei's lip's twisted into a self-depreciating smile, "Not so much an ambition than a necessity, Mr Mikaelson."

His eyes sharpened with interest, obviously wanting to know more, but she wasn't in the mood to indulge his curiosity. She wanted to be able to bask in her small accomplishment, and unfortunately, explaining what she was doing to Elijah would do nothing but make her feel moody. Like it was being thrown in her face how very far she still had to go. Unreasonable, yes, but that's just how she felt.

"You have the moonstone?" His asked politely, but his eyes were intense.

As if the mere mention of the object was enough to summon its negative effects, Rei's temples thumped viciously and she became aware of just how stiffly she was holding her neck, as if it was painful to move. And suddenly she remembered exactly why she'd marched inside and grabbed the glass, determined to distract herself and relieve some of her newly found anger with a reducto-like spell.

"I do," She said, catching herself just before she nodded and made the pulsing behind her eyes worse.

She'd left retrieving the moonstone as late as she could. The pain that she'd felt in its physical proximity was a vivid memory and she had no intention of exposing herself to that for a minute longer than was absolutely necessary. Leaving the house at four, she'd jogged for half an hour before reaching the small cave where she'd hidden it. Out of the way, but still within the property that she owned, Rei hadn't had a clue how many people were searching for her prize when she'd placed it within one of many naturally formed hollows in the stone.

Walked briskly across the lawn, she crouched down and poked her head under her deck, her eyes searching the cobweb riddled darkness for the simple bag she'd thrown under here in the childish hope, that putting the moonstone somewhere out of sight, would lessen its impact on her.

"You hid it under your porch?" Despite the muffled sounding question, Elijah's amusement was plain. "You do realise that the stone is an incredibly powerful magical object? That countless people have spent sometimes their entire lives searching for it?"

Knowing that he wouldn't see and she was safe to indulge in the immature urge, Rei pulled a face, miming his words mockingly in the darkness as she pulled on the long, thin handle of her bag, dragging it out.

Clenching her teeth against the effort it took to rise to her feet, joints aching, Rei fixed the centuries old vampire with an unimpressed stare before drawing the aforementioned cloudy object from the beaded bag, holding it out to him.

"I get it," She smiled sarcastically. "It's an _important _rock." She knew she was being short and unnecessarily snippy, but the stinging shoots of pain travelling from her wrist to her elbow, starting to creep up to her shoulder, were only increasing in intensity the longer she held the magical object against her bare skin.

With one last, long look, Elijah gently lifted the stone from her palm.

"Why are you giving this to me?" There was a strength in his voice that almost demanded she answer.

As discreetly as she could Rei took a few steps back, breathing in deep, slow breaths through her nose, keeping her heart rate calm.

His words last night might have surprised her, the sincerity and respect for her, but she wasn't stupid. Her gut told her that she could trust Elijah, that he was a man of his word, but that didn't mean she should advertise such an easily exploited weakness. No, only a handful of people in the world knew the full extent of her problem with magic, she'd like to keep it that way.

"You said it yourself, Mr Mikaelson. This is not my fight. I believe that you are a man who respects honestly, both in others and himself." Rei explained slowly, choosing her words with care. "In my world, promises and oaths are treated with a seriousness that is hard to find in most muggles anymore. When it's magic itself that ensures life-debts are upheld, that unbreakable oaths are fulfilled, even the smaller promises, solemnly given, can bring their own consequences if not honoured. We've learned to be careful with our words. It's become almost second nature for wand-wielders to have an instinctive trust in those simple, but powerful oaths. It happens, of course, we're far from perfect. But when both parties know exactly what they're agreeing to? When it's important? There's value in that. There's an instinct to give others the benefit of the doubt until you're proven wrong." Rei grinned wryly, "You can't argue with magic."

The mere concept of escaping the fatal consequences of something like an unbreakable vow seemed laughable to her. That magic was beyond the grasp of her kind, power far beyond them.

Elijah slid the moonstone into the inside pocket of his jacket, a curiously wistful look on his face.

"Yes," He agreed. "That aspect of Wizarding culture is one that I have always admired. It reminds me of how things used to be done in past centuries."

She shrugged, "I'm choosing to trust you, Mr Mikaelson."

The Original's neck turned sharply at those words, at the unspoken warning they held.

"I'm choosing to believe that you do not wish for Elena Gilbert's death, not if it can be avoided. I'm admitting that this whole curse situation is none of my business. That without all the facts, trying to step in could very well result in ramifications I was neither expecting, nor prepared for."

He nodded slowly, understanding seeping into his dark brown eyes.

"It is a lot to gamble," He pointed out. "If your friends should find out, they would see your handing the moonstone over to me and not them as a betrayal."

Ignoring the churning in her stomach from the stone's close proximity, Rei raised her chin. "I found the moonstone, they didn't. It was my choice what to do with it. If they find out and aren't happy with my decision," Rei shrugged. "Too bad."

A slow smile spread across the vampire's lips.

"You're trying to hold them at a distance, Miss Potter," He observed shrewdly. "But, something tells me that should such an event as you have just described come to pass, your clinical approach may falter. You are growing to care for these people, that is obvious. I sincerely hope that they do not disappoint you."

...

_I'd love to hear your thoughts! ;D_


	16. A Simple World

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

…

_"I don't know, Elena's determined to act the martyr. I tried talking to her, but she's not hearing a word I'm saying."_

Damon scowled as he walked down the stairs, phone pressed to his ear.

"Thankfully, we won't have to worry about suicidal Elena for much longer." He shrugged on his leather jacket. "I had a little chat with Katherine, managed to trick her into telling me that the white oak ash and silver dagger to the heart myth is true."

_"Just be careful, Damon," _Stefan cautioned. He rolled his eyes. _"Elijah's an Original, he's been around a long time. It's not going to be easy getting the drop on him."_

"Speaking of getting the drop on people," He spoke up, changing the subject before his little brother bored him to death. "Guess what I spent last night doing?"

_"I don't want to hear about you and Andie-"_

"Head out of the gutter there, slick!" Damon gasped theatrically. "No, after my little torture session at the hands of a certain female werewolf we all know and love, I ran over to our new neighbour's house where I found four dead werewolves."

_"What?" _

"Yeah, they went after Rei, thought she'd know where we'd hidden the moonstone. Apparently, the princess is not so helpless, she took care of three of them by herself before we got there." Grabbing his keys and phone, he pulled open the front door and stepped into the morning air. "Though I refused to help dispose of the bodies because she was being annoying."

He scowled with remembrance. Bonnie had called him about Luka only shortly after he'd left her and Alaric behind to clean-up, he just wished that judgy had called sooner. Say, when he was arguing with Rei in her kitchen about spilling all things Elijah related. He'd have loved to have proven her 'good guy' theory wrong to her face.

But you can't have everything, could you? He'd settle for telling her today. After all, the look on her face should be priceless no matter the hour, he smirked.

_"How?" _He could practically hear Stefan frown.

"How what?" Damon snapped back.

_"She overcame four werewolves by herself? How is that possible?!"_

"Cool your jets, brother," He rolled his eyes. "Apparently, Elijah made an appearance at her home, killed one of them by ripping the guy's heart out of his chest. Rei took care of the other three, and before you have a cow, Rick said that princess wasn't a slouch when it came to self-defence. If she surprised them and was her annoyingly smart self about it, it's not that unbelievable, Stefan." Eyes narrowed, his mind flashed back to last night. "Though she now thinks Elijah is Mr Good Guy."

_"She killed them?!" _Stefan exclaimed with shock, and Damon couldn't blame him, he'd had the same reaction. _"That short, teenage girl beat three werewolves? She actually took them out?!"_

"Yeah," Sighing, he slid behind the wheel. "And she wasn't a sobbing mess of tears on the floor either. I'll grant you, she seemed shocked, kind of sad about the having to kill people, but she was handling what she did with…scary poise."

_"And she thinks Elijah is someone she can trust?" _Stefan's voice was alarmed now, and Damon scowled at the dashboard with aggravation. How did he know his little brother was going to overreact?

"Look, I wasn't very happy either, but after thinking about it some more I realised that this really isn't that big of a deal. So princess thinks Mr Original is Prince Charming, so what? As soon as I tell her what Bonnie found out through Luka, about him intending for Elena's part of the ritual to be carried out, she'll change her mind. In the meantime, she can't tell him anything of use anyway, so relax, I've got this covered."

_"I guess you're right," _Stefan sighed. _"But tell her sooner rather than later, Damon. I won't have her putting Elena in danger, even if it is through ignorance." _

He grit his teeth against the urge to tell his brother that she was harmless and his responsibility. Rei had proven last night that she might be human but she certainly wasn't harmless, and he had no intention of betraying just how quickly the British girl had wormed her way into the small circle of people he cared about.

She was just so…honest. She didn't play games with him. He didn't know if that was because she didn't know how or felt no need to, but even when it infuriated him, like last night, the fact that she simply wouldn't kowtow to him, felt no need to, was something he respected. Even when he hated it.

"Just worry about keeping Elena from throwing herself in the lake, Stefan." He snapped the phone shut.

…

"Caroline, come on," She rolled her eyes, sticking her head out of the closet to give the blonde sitting on her bed a look. "I know that you're annoyed he didn't say goodbye to you."

"I'm not," Caroline denied immediately. "He basically threw me to the wolves, pun intended, why would I care that he's gone?" She scoffed.

"Because you care about him, people who you don't care about can't hurt you like he did," Pulling the fitted purple dress off the hanger, Rei bent to examine her shoes. "If it's any consolation, he didn't tell me that he was leaving town either."

"…Really?" Came the small question.

Smiling at the white peep-toe wedges, she scooped them up and exited her closet.

"Really. He came to my house really late to make sure that I was okay, he was ranting about not knowing they were going to come after me, worried that I wouldn't believe him, but he never told me."

"Well," The blonde sat up a little straighter. "I guess that does make me feel a little better," She admitted sheepishly.

"No looking!" Rei held up a strict finger.

Rolling her eyes with exasperation, Caroline nevertheless let her body fall back on the bed, her blue eyes focused on the ceiling as Rei quickly shimmied into her clothes.

"I don't know why you insist that I look away," The vampire complained loudly. "We're both girls, you've got nothing I haven't seen before."

Recalling Parvati insisting the exact same thing in the Gryffindor dorms years earlier, she gave her the same answer she'd given the Indian witch then.

"Just because we're both girls does not mean that it's open season, and frankly, I think you doth protest too much." She smirked.

Caroline gasped with outrage, shooting up from the bed.

"Zipper?" Rei smiled innocently, turning around as she pulled her black curls to one side.

"You doth protest too much," The vampire muttered under her breath as she zipped her up. "Please."

The sound of a convoy of trucks rolling down her drive interrupted her reply and Rei crossed the room to look out the window.

"Looks like they're all here," She told Caroline before grabbing her handbag off the floor and leaving the room at a jog.

At the top of the stairs she peered down over the handrail at the group of workmen crowding around the empty space her door used to stand in.

"Good Morning!" She smiled sunnily at the fifteen or so tradesmen that looked up at her as she walked briskly down the stairs.

"Are you Miss Potter?" A kind looking Italian man stepped forward, the skin around his eyes wrinkled with age.

"I am," She nodded, coming to a stop in front of him. "And I assume that you are the owner of 'Woodbridge Handyman and Carpenters'?"

"Si," A wide smile stretched across his face that she couldn't help returning.

"Thank-you so much for coming over, I know that it's a Sunday but it was kind of an emergency," She apologised.

"We can see that," One of the younger men at the back joked good-naturedly.

"Yeah," She chuckled. "Saw the gate on the way in then?"

"I think everyone saw the gate, Rei," Caroline laughed as she glided to a stop at her side, ready to go.

"Right." Turning back to the owner, she pointed behind her. "The kitchen's that way, as I said over the phone most of the damage is in there, upstairs is fine so you don't have to worry about that. Basically, it's just this level and the gate."

"Okay," The man clapped his hands and turned around to address his workers, issuing instructions and jobs quickly before they all seemed to disperse, heading to the trucks to get their individual tools.

"Efficient," Rei grinned at him warmly.

"We should have everything finished by the end of the day, no problem." His accent was thick but she understood him perfectly.

"Brilliant," Looping her arm through Caroline's, she pulled the blonde outside. "I'll get out of your way then, and thank-you again for coming out here so quickly."

"It was my pleasure, Miss Potter."

Hopping into Caroline's unfamiliar car, it wasn't long before they were pulling away and flying down the highway.

"I can't believe that it's taken us this long to organise the girl's shopping day that I promised you." Care looked over at her from the driver's side with amusement. "Then again, having now seen your closet I think I understand why you didn't push."

Rei flushed slightly. "My parents, they left me everything when they died," She explained, shifting uncomfortably.

The Potters were a very wealthy family, when you combined that worth with the largest portion of the Black estate that Sirius had willed her…well, money wasn't really an issue.

"Okay," The blonde said loudly, sensing that a topic change was needed. "I'm thinking that we pick up Bonnie and start our day…what do you say?"

Rei smiled, nodding. "Sure, but I hope you know that we're not staying in town." At Caroline's surprised glance she actually glared. "You didn't really think-! Mystic Falls has no shops!"

"Yes, it does-"

"No," She held up a single finger. "It doesn't. You cannot have a real, exhausting shopping day with only five clothing stores, trust me. Get thinking missy," She flung an arm out dramatically causing the blonde's lips to twitch with amusement. "I want the 'shop till you drop' experience. You're in charge of location."

"Okay, okay," Caroline laughed heartily, turning the corner so that they were heading towards the centre of town. "Maybe Bonnie will have some ideas."

…

She watched Luka storm away with mixed feelings. He'd looked so betrayed, so shocked by his own realisation of what she must have done to him.

Having uncovered the information that she had, that Elijah intended for Elena to die in the sacrifice, to only act after Klaus had drained her of all her blood, killing her, it ought to have silenced any lingering guilt she was feeling. Ended any doubts about what she had done.

And it had. For the most part.

"You okay?" Jeremy nudged her shoulder, catching her attention.

Bonnie smiled at him. "Fine."

"You're not regretting last night, are you?" He asked anxiously.

"No!" She shook her head strongly. "We needed to know what Elijah intended to do with Elena. I'm just…" Feeling bad about how we had to go about doing it, she finished silently. Seeing the look on Jeremy's face, the tightness around his mouth as he drew back from the table, she frowned. "What?"

"I wasn't talking about that," He shot her a small glare and Bonnie immediately flushed.

"Jeremy…" She opened her mouth to say more but she didn't know the words.

The kiss that they'd shared had been…incredible. Which is what shocked her the most. She hadn't really, not deep down, thought that it would have felt that…special. This crush that he had on her, she'd thought that it was a passing thing, hoped it would pass. But he'd pursued her with a dedication she'd never experienced before, especially being Elena's best friend. Guy's just didn't look at her when she was standing beside the brunette. But Jeremy had made her feel…special and beautiful and…God, she couldn't imagine what Elena would say if Bonnie told her she liked her little brother.

The male Gilbert exhaled loudly, his body language making no attempt to mask how exasperated he was feeling.

"Bonnie, come on. We've danced around this for weeks now!"

"...I need to talk to Elena," She finally spoke up, looking at him pleadingly.

Jeremy's brow drew down, as if her answer had truly surprised him. "I wasn't aware that we needed my sister's permission to date," He said sharply, annoyed.

"She's my best friend, I tell her everything. I just need to make sure that she's okay with this," She pointed a finger between them.

"We don't need Elena's permission, Bonnie!" He leaned forward, his nostrils flaring.

She nibbled her lower lip worriedly, feeling awful for putting that look in his eyes.

"I just need to check," Bonnie shrugged helplessly.

…

"Jenna thinks he's charming," Alaric groused, pushing his drink away from him.

Damon smirked, "Does he sound jealous?"

"He does," Andie Star smiled teasingly from underneath the vampire's arm.

He grimaced. "Do we have to talk about this here?" He looked at the woman beside him pointedly.

"Who, Andie?" Damon scoffed. "She's been compelled to keep all my secrets, haven't you?" He crooned, leaning in for a kiss.

Alaric jerked back, turning his head away from the disturbing sight quickly. His eyes lit up when he caught sight of the person that had just walked through the door.

"Rei!" He called out, waving his arm in the air to catch her attention.

A small, genuine grin spread across her lips and she turned back to mutter something to the blonde that he quickly realised was Caroline, beside her. He watched the pair exchange signals with happy realisation, the blonde nodding at him with a smile before she left to join Bonnie and Jeremy at their table. Warmth flooding him at the evidence that the English girl was making fast friends in town.

Rei approached them swiftly.

"Hey," He moved over so that she could slide into the booth. "I thought that you were going to stay in today?"

He'd been reluctant to leave her house last night, especially when she was without the security of her front door, but she'd insisted. To say that he'd had a fitful sleep would be generous. Between Jenna's frosty demeanour and the supernatural problems that kept stacking up, sleep had become increasingly elusive of late.

Emerald eyes rolled, completely ignoring the spectacle that Damon was making opposite them.

"I had a hysterical blonde vampire turn up on my doorstep at about seven-thirty this morning, demanding to know why I hadn't immediately called to tell her about what had happened last night." Alaric grinned, amused by the picture she painted. "Anyway, by the time I'd convinced her that I was, in fact, still alive and well, she'd stress eaten most of the food in my fridge and then declared that she still owed me a girls shopping day."

"Ah," He nodded slowly. "So you've been kidnapped?"

"Please," Damon's voice interrupted their purposefully private conversation. "Something tells me that the princess here adores spending money on material goods."

Rei ignored him. "We're just here to pick up Bonnie."

"I still think you should let me come over to fix your front door," He frowned at her worriedly. "I'm not great with the household fixing stuff, but I'd feel a lot better about you staying there if you at least had a door."

She waved a hand dismissively. "Already taken care of, workmen are setting everything to right as we speak."

Before he could answer, Damon clicked his fingers, distracting him. "Look who it is," Alaric glanced behind them, "Jenna and her new boyfriend."

Eyes widening, he looked across at the calm looking Rei anxiously. He didn't want her near the Original, not after last night, not even before that. With Jenna he couldn't do anything but make sure he was there as well, despite knowing that if Elijah wanted to do something he didn't have a hope in hell of stopping him, but with Rei?

"You should get going," He jerked his head towards Caroline and Bonnie with a significant look. "Don't want to waste the day away, right?" He chuckled uncomfortably, all too aware that the Original would be able to hear everything he said.

Rei arched an eyebrow at him before glancing behind her to see what had caught both of their attentions.

"Rick's right, princess," Damon flicked his eyes in a mimicry of what he wanted her to do. "Better get going."

Emerald eyes flickered between them thoughtfully before Rei abruptly folded her arms and sunk back into the booth, making it obvious that she had no intention of going anywhere.

Even as Damon's eyes became glacial at her easy rebellion, Alaric brought up a hand to shield his eyes, silently cursing himself for forgetting so quickly that Rei Potter didn't do well with being told what to do. Great, now she'd never leave.

"Hey!" Jenna chirped, bouncing up to their table. "Rei, it's been a while."

"It has," Rei smiled at her pleasantly. "I heard that your brother-in-law is back in town, your house must be crowded at the moment."

"John, yeah, he's a treat." His girlfriend's eyes darted up to his questioningly. "How'd you know though?"

Oh no.

A cold sweat broke out on his back when he caught the unimpressed light in her blue eyes as she surveyed Rei. Only now did it occur to him that Jenna might not appreciate him telling a person her niece's age Gilbert family business.

While they'd been disposing of the bodies last night they'd both kept up conversation as a way to distract themselves from what they were doing. It had felt liberating to finally have the chance to speak freely about the John, Isobel, Jenna situation with somebody.

It was only now, when he was staring into the irritated blue orbs of his girlfriend, was he second guessing the wisdom of that decision.

"Elena told me," Rei lied for him smoothly, no hint of the deception in her face or tone.

Alaric looked down at the table to hide his relief, throughly impressed that Rei had not only been able to read the situation for what it was but also cover for him in the same moment.

"Oh, right," Jenna shook her head as if mentally rebuking herself for jumping to conclusions. "Um, this is Elijah Smith," She introduced hastily. "I'm showing him around town for his book."

Alaric's back straightened as the vampire he'd spent the morning with stepped out from behind Jenna, a charming smile on his lips, his eyes entirely focused on Rei.

"Pleasure," He nodded at them. "I had no idea that this establishment was so popular amongst the locals."

Not liking the fact that the man's dark gaze had yet to stray from Rei, Alaric shot Damon a beseeching look only to lock gazes with determined ice blue orbs reflecting his own unease.

"I hear that you two had quite the meeting of historical minds," Damon interjected with deceptive interest.

From the corner of his eye he could see Rei's silent figure observing Elijah speculatively, her emerald eyes intently curious.

"Are you an historian, Mr Smith?" She interrupted the distraction Damon was attempting to provide cleanly.

Elijah's eyes, which had drifted towards the black-haired vampire as he'd been speaking, immediately snapped back to focus on Rei.

"Indeed I am, Miss…" He trailed off.

Rei smirked at him, amused, "Potter."

"Miss Potter," He nodded once. "Jenna has been kind enough to spend the morning showing me the sights of Mystic Falls. In fact, Rick even joined us." Dark brown eyes flashed towards him, fleeting amusement for his earlier possessive behaviour simmering there. "She's been most helpful."

He controlled the urge to glare at the far more powerful creature with effort, hating the veiled threats he was making right in front of his all too ignorant girlfriend.

"You're a curious one, Elijah," Damon spoke up, sitting forward so that his elbows rested on the table. "Tell me, you call Jenna, Rick and myself by our first names…why not Rei?"

Biting the inside of his cheek he kicked his friend under the table, furious that he would so carelessly invite the ancient vampire's attention back to Rei again.

"Not all of us were born in a barn, blue eyes," Rei cleared her throat, pushing long, dark curls back over her shoulder. "Mr Smith is simply being polite."

"Something that many men in this day and age have lost," Jenna piped up, throwing a conspiratorial wink at the younger girl as she did so.

He watched with a certain kind of helplessness as Elijah ignored the small talk and instead caught Rei's gaze determinedly with his own.

"...I would ask that you call me Elijah, Miss Potter."

Rei's eyes widened slightly at the formal request, but she recovered almost instantly. "Of course. Thank-you, Elijah."

At her acceptance, the barest hint of a smile, bereft of the vampire's typical superiority, curved up the comers of the Original's lips.

Alaric's anxiousness skyrocket.

Throwing Damon a frantic look, he ground his teeth together when he noticed the elder Salvatore brother watching the pair through narrowed eyes, his focus entirely captured by their strangely comfortable exchange.

"Yep, town boundaries, big whoop," Alaric interrupted with a large, cheesy grin. "I'd love to stay and chat but I've got papers to grade and you've," He pointed at her, annoyed when she blinked up at him innocently. She knew she was driving him crazy, putting herself in harm's way. The laughing twinkle in her eyes told him that she was fully aware of his flustered state. "You've got shopping to do. Don't want to hold your friends up, that's for sure," He laughed loudly, inadvertently attracting passersby's attention. "Teenage girls and clothes, you do not want to stand in the way of that."

Rei's lips pulled up into a small grin but she nodded, finally taking mercy on him. "You're right," She nodded at them, getting to her feet gracefully.

He breathed a small sigh of pure relief, having every intention of following her example as soon as humanly possible.

"Elijah…" Emerald eyes lingered on the Original as she fiddled with the small black bag slung over her shoulder, and suddenly, inexplicably, Alaric knew exactly what she was going to say next. "Please, call me Rei."

Watching the young woman spin around confidently, he didn't dare look at Damon. The elder Salvatore would be spitting chips with that last comment.

He groaned internally.

"What a remarkable girl," Elijah mused lightly, his eyes following her progress through the Grill with a focus that thoroughly unnerved him.

...

"What the hell was that?!" Caroline hissed as soon as Rei was within earshot.

Without waiting for an answer, she curled her fingers around her friend's elbow and hurriedly pulled her outside, Bonnie and Jeremy on their heels.

"You want to tell me why you're manhandling me into an alley at the back of the Grill?" Rei asked dryly, tugging her arm free.

Caroline rounded on her just as Bonnie came tearing around the corner.

"What was that?!" She demanded shrilly.

Rei frowned at the three of them with annoyance. "I assume that you're talking about Elijah?"

"You were flirting with the guy that wants to kill Elena!" Jeremy's hands were clenched into fists at his sides, his voice dark with anger. "How could you do that?!"

"Flirting?" Rei spluttered, taken by complete surprise.

Caroline flushed when all eyes turned to her. "Well, I heard you, and it sounded an awful lot like flirting to me!" She defended herself, feeling strangely ashamed under Rei's green gaze. Like she'd done something wrong, broken some sort of unspoken rule with the British girl that she didn't know about.

"First of all," Rei's voice was tight as she spoke, soft. "I was not flirting with Elijah. Second of all, Caroline? Ever heard of taking things out of context? It happens a lot when eavesdropping, trust me, I know. And thirdly, how could I talk to the vampire that was responsible for Caroline and I escaping Mr torture-happy werewolf? Oh, I don't know," She threw her arms out widely, looking at Jeremy straight in the eye. "How could I possibly do such a horrible thing?" Her sarcasm was inescapable.

"Stop it, Rei," Bonnie scolded her. "You're not helping."

If they were expecting Bonnie's chastisement to work like it always seemed to, they were wrong. Rei drew upwards, her spine straightening even as her expression became blank.

Oh no, no, no, no, no!

Lunging forward, Caroline encircled Rei's wrist with her fingers gently, hoping that the physical contact would stop her from withdrawing any further, silently cursing Bonnie for her choice of words.

"I'm sorry," She apologised quickly. "We just-we found out something about Elijah last night," She explained softly, carefully. "Something that Luka told us."

Green eyes abruptly sharpened, swinging around to pierce hers. "Luka?" She asked.

"You don't know yet?" Bonnie stepped forward, her eyes wide with surprise and even a little guilt for her earlier behaviour. "I just assumed that…" She trailed off, exchanging a look with Jeremy whose jaw had yet to fully unclench. Nevertheless, the realisation that Rei didn't know what they had discovered about the Original's motives the night before had thawed some of the ice in the Gilbert's eyes.

"We can't talk here," Caroline cautioned, squeezing Rei's hand with her own, the girl's silence worrying her.

"My house," Jeremy volunteered stiffly.

…

Rei pushed the dresses on the rack backwards, her mind ticking over the information she'd been told.

If they were expecting her to be shocked into speechlessness, horrified beyond words, they were sorely mistaken, but she was taking advantage of the space that Bonnie and Care were giving her to mull over their situation in peace.

She'd been honest with Elijah this morning when she said that this wasn't her fight. This wasn't her business and she refused to be dragged into the middle of such a messy situation. Furthermore, their revelations did nothing to dispute her assessment of the Original's character. It might sound callous, horribly awful of her, but that didn't change the fact that the war had taught her to analyse circumstances for what they were, not what she wished them to be.

Rei might have started off life as an optimist but she knew she couldn't be classified as such now, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Practical realism.

That's what the war had taught her.

The greatest good for the greatest number, it was always in the back of her mind. A giant scales measuring the loss of life of each decision, trying to come up with a strategy that achieved as much as possible with the minimum casualties.

So, when Bonnie, Jeremy and Caroline had recounted what Luka had unknowingly disclosed, she hadn't reacted the same way as them.

Her mind had immediately jumped to what she already knew.

Katerina Petrova, Elena's predecessor, when she had thwarted this man's goals, her entire family had been slaughtered. Anyone that had tried to help her had met the same fate.

And Elijah had kept his word. They'd told her about the careful wording of his deal with Elena, spoken of him twisting things. She was anything but shocked though.

She'd spent years learning how to fight with words.

She had battled Tom Riddle, the perfect Slytherin, someone so gifted in manipulation it almost surpassed his mastery of magic. Since she was eleven, she'd had to work with Dumbledore's experienced hints and cautions. By the time of his death in her sixth year she'd been exposed to the most manipulative, two-faced, slippery personalities you could conceive of. Journalists, politicians, Death Eaters, Light supporters.

Albus had given her an education in seeing a person's true motives, in determining their angle and perspective that few people, let alone those her age, ever experienced.

Elijah's deal was practically harmless in comparison. Obvious.

But the war was over. This wasn't her town, her country, even her world. She was an outsider.

It wasn't her place to judge or comment.

So, she'd kept her silence.

She didn't point out to Jeremy that Luka was in exactly the same position as he was. She certainly didn't ask the question that her mind had immediately posed; what made Elena so much more important than Greta?

Because that wasn't fair.

She might not have a family, but if it had been Ron or Hermione in the same position, she didn't think there would be many people she'd place above their safety.

You were _supposed_ to feel that way for family, for best friends, for love.

So, she hadn't said anything.

Because unlike them, she could see both sides.

Against her will, her mind kept falling back into the thinking that had dominated her thoughts for far too long. That infernal balancing scales that kept whispering, one life for many.

"What do you think?" Caroline giggled, holding up a satin green dress to her.

Rei smiled tightly. "Looks good, you should try it on."

Her blonde friend frowned at her, sky blue eyes brimming with concern. "I meant for you," She held out the dress hopefully.

"Oh," Shaking her head, she took the hanger from the vampire's grasp gently. "Thanks, I'll just go try it on." She swallowed past the guilt as she turned away, walking towards the change rooms.

She felt for Elena. Rei knew exactly what it felt like to be that one person whose death would save the greater number. She knew what that felt like intimately. Though at least she'd died with the knowledge that her actions would allow others the chance to defeat Tom once and for all. Elena's death was because of a ritual that one person wanted broken. But then, in the end, the war was also because of one man's ambition. Perhaps it was simply the difference in scale that was striking her.

Pulling the curtain back, she stared into the mirror on the wall, hating her reflection at that moment.

She felt cold.

Unfeeling.

And not for the first time, she appreciated how lonely Albus must have been.

She didn't want to think like this. She didn't want her mind to rationalise the murder of a seventeen year old girl. She'd give almost anything to have the innocence that Bonnie and Caroline possessed, to react to this situation the way they were doing.

Because even if Hermione and Ron were in Elena's position, even if she had no intention of letting them die. Even then, she would be fully aware of the repercussions of her actions. The fact that she was being selfish, that others would lose their sister, friend, lover because she'd decided to save the person she loved.

She wouldn't be able to escape those consequences, or the knowledge that ultimately, even if it wasn't her fault directly, if she'd acted differently those things wouldn't have happened.

To have the innocence they did? To honestly, genuinely, not think beyond the one goal of saving their childhood friend?

She couldn't remember the last time her world had been that simple.

...

_Klaus will be making his first appearance next chapter! Excited? ;D_


	17. Ancient Eyes

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

…

_Thank-you to everyone that reviewed last chapter, I posted this as soon as I finished replying to everyone, hope you enjoy! ;D_

...

Rei slammed on the breaks, the tire's of the car spinning and screeching to a halt against the asphalt.

"What the hel-?!" Caroline screamed, both her wrists pressed bracingly against the dashboard in front of her.

Rei ignored her.

Paying no attention to the angry horns blasting around her, she spun around in her seat, the seatbelt cutting uncomfortably into the soft skin of her neck as she strained to look at the person sitting directly behind her.

"What did you just say?" She demanded.

Bonnie looked at her with wide eyes.

"Seriously?!" Caroline squawked from the front.

"Bonnie!" She snapped impatiently.

The Wiccan jumped, surprised by her whip-sharp tone. "Elijah. Damon, Stefan and Elena, they daggered him." She hastened to explain, not knowing what had put that wild look in her friend's eyes, but worried all the same.

"What does that mean?" Rei growled through her teeth, needing to make sure. She had to be sure.

"That he's dead," Bonnie shot a silent Caroline a confused glance. "For all intents and purposes."

Rei pressed her lips together tightly, forcing back the furious words that were desperate to be voiced as she turned back around in her seat.

"Rei?" The blonde beside her asked hesitantly, sharing concerned looks with Bonnie through the rear-view mirror.

She released the hand-break sharply.

"Who am I dropping off first?" She asked crisply.

Bonnie leaned forward, her worry increasing. "But…I thought we were going to go get dinner?"

Rei's hands tightened around the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white.

"Are you mad?" Caroline asked incredulously, her eyes sweeping over her rigid figure with shock. "About Elijah?"

"Bonnie," Rei snapped, "I have no idea where your house is so if you wouldn't mind giving me some directions-"

"You're upset about Elijah?!" Bonnie cut her off with an angry glare.

Rei breathed in deeply, trying to control her temper but they weren't making it easy.

"He wanted Elena dead, Rei!" Caroline stated seriously, as if she thought the severity of that point must have escaped her.

Her precarious control snapped.

"She gave him _her word_!" She yelled, silencing them both immediately. "Whatever you what to say, whichever way you want to twist this, Elijah and Elena made a deal. One which Elena, as I understand it, agreed to with full knowledge of what it would mean."

"He was going to let her die!" Bonnie screamed from the back.

"And she knew that!" Rei shouted back, beyond furious. The words pouring out of her uncensored. The news of Elijah's demise, of the way it had happened, completely blind-siding her. "Putting aside whether the deal was right or wrong, unfair or not," She stated hotly, her words rapid but no less articulate. "She agreed to the deal. Elena gave her word!" She stressed, banging her hand against the steering wheel forcefully.

"He's not even permanently dead, Rei!" Caroline argued. "We couldn't just sit back and do nothing, knowing what we did!"

She breathed in deeply through her nose. They didn't get it, they didn't understand! Merlin! What they did was…!

"Damon invited him into his home, lied about his intentions and literally stabbed him in the back," She spoke lowly, her words soft, intense. "Fine, I get that. You won."

"Then why-?!" Caroline began, only to be rudely cut off.

She pulled over sharply, unable to concentrate on driving enough that she knew it was dangerous for her to be behind the wheel with this amount of rage storming through her.

Rei turned to face Caroline, her body angled so she could see the both of them.

"Elena renegotiated," She murmured. "She stood there, safe inside, and used her advantage to coax a deal out of Elijah that he never would have willingly given. Again, fine," Rei growled. "But, after getting her new agreement. After getting everything she wanted, including his word not to retaliate against the Salvatores, she re-daggers him!"

Both girls stared at her in silence, not understanding.

"She promised, she _promised, _don't you get that?!"

Caroline bit her lip, looking away.

"So what?" Bonnie spoke harshly, her hazel-green eyes bright with anger. "Elena gives her word and we're all supposed to pretend that means something?! That that means _anything _when the situation is so serious?!"

Rei froze.

Turning slowly, she gazed at Bonnie with shock.

"Pretend that it means something?" She echoed hollowly. "Did you just-? You really think-!" She shook her head, looking down at her hands unseeingly.

Caroline reached out, grasping one of her limp hands, worried about her rapid change in mood.

"You're a Wiccan, Bonnie," Rei breathed out through a humourless laugh. "You should know the power of a promise." She looked up with a glare. "Magic makes oaths sacred. It is not something to be taken lightly. It is not something given lightly. To throw away Elijah's word, her own promise, like it was nothing! Like it meant nothing!"

Bonnie's eyes softened at the reference to her magic, at her realisation that Rei wasn't angry that they'd saved Elena but the way they went about doing it.

"She was thinking on her feet, Rei," Bonnie tried to explain. "I don't think that she was even thinking about anything that you just said. Elena doesn't take promises lightly."

Rei drew back. Breaking eye contact with the witch, she shook Caroline's hand off of hers.

They didn't get it.

If you can do it once, you can always do it again.

She might not know Elena very well, from what she'd seen the Gilbert girl was a normal, every-day muggle. She tried to do the right thing when she could, she was also very young and still learning.

But she'd discovered something tonight.

Turning around, Rei twisted the keys bringing the car engine back to life.

Elena Gilbert's word was to be taken with a grain of salt.

"Left or right, Bonnie?" She asked quietly.

…

Caroline looked down at the many bags resting on her bed sadly, unable to summon the energy needed to put away her newly purchased things.

When Elena had called Bonnie earlier, when she'd told them that Elijah was out of the picture, she'd been so happy, so relieved. She still was, in a way. But her mind wouldn't stop turning over Rei's words.

Knowing what she did; her friend's claim that magic made promises sacred was all the more difficult to ignore.

It had shaken her, even more so than Bonnie. And she knew Bonnie had been shaken at the reminder. She'd admitted as much to her when she'd hopped out of the car at the Bennet's house, not wanting to sit in the silent vehicle for a minute longer than she needed to, and certainly not alone.

"Sweetie?" She looked up to see her Mum's worried face staring back at her. "Everything okay?"

Caroline looked back down at the shopping bags without answering, tears pricking at the backs of her eyes. Rei's words making her feel…horrible.

She'd never seen the English girl so angry before, she'd been practically vibrating with rage. That, more than anything else, told her all she needed to know. Because Rei had been less than enthusiastic about being seen to stick her nose in their business, even when they'd asked her opinion. She would always say that they had to make up their own minds, that she didn't know enough, that it wasn't her place…but she'd told them exactly what she thought tonight.

Caroline swallowed dryly, "Mum?" She called. "What's a good reason to break a promise?"

Her mother's shock was palpable in the air, shocked that her independent daughter had asked her such a question. Hesitantly, the sheriff crossed the threshold into her room, sinking down on the bed with a thoughtful exhale.

"I suppose…if keeping your promise will hurt you or someone else." Liz answered carefully.

"What if you break your promise because you're afraid not doing so will get them hurt? Even if you're not sure." She asked slowly, thinking about Elena daggering Elijah because he might hurt those that had sought to do him harm. Because she couldn't trust him.

"Caroline," Her Mum was looking at her with growing concern. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

With a start, she realised that she was just scaring her Mother, that without her knowing about everything she couldn't really help her.

Forcing a trill of laughter past her lips, she flipped her hair back. "Just boy problems."

…

Rei stalked towards the solid wood door with purpose, her eyes gleaming in the darkness.

_"Damon got the moonstone!" Bonnie shouted with happiness from the back of the car. "Elena says that he found it in Elijah's jacket pocket, he must have been able to locate it somehow."_

_Rei's eyes narrowed with irritation. Annoyed that something she'd kept hidden for weeks had barely survived one day out of her sight before changing hands. _

_"Thankfully, he hid it away before Elijah woke up again…"_

There was no way that she was letting them profit from their appalling actions.

Extending a hand, she wasn't at all surprised when the handle turned, unlocked. No doubt a result of Damon's arrogance, she thought spitefully. Flinging open the door, she glided inside without hesitation, following the shoots of pain in her neck like a beacon.

Twisting gracefully through halls, up stairs and around corners, her anger was more than enough motivation for her to push away the growing pain in her head as she walked into a minimalistic bedroom. Dismissing the decor, she moved swiftly through area, following the pain.

The sound of running water warned her that she wasn't alone, but she didn't pause. Striding into the bathroom, her eyes alighted upon a familiar figure and her eyebrows rose.

"Well, well," She murmured softly, leaning against the door frame casually.

Her steps had been quiet, almost silent, but her heartbeat would have betrayed her to the creature opposite her long ago.

"Now either Elena Gilbert owns the world's fastest car,…or you must be Katerina Petrova." She smirked.

…

Katherine smiled at the tiles in front of her with satisfaction before slowly turning around, unashamed of her nakedness.

The smallest frown twitched at the skin between her eyebrows as she finally laid eyes on the person with so calm a heart-beat.

She was beautiful.

Unmistakably, strikingly beautiful.

Irritation flashed through her as she realised that the little British girl was more beautiful than even she was.

She'd never been one to deal well with competitive.

"And who might you be?" She asked silkily, grabbing a towel from the rack behind her, annoyed by the fact that she was not the most desirable creature in the room.

"I thought that you were wasting away in the tomb beneath the church," The black-haired young woman ignored her question and asked her own.

Katherine's lips widened into a grin. "Hmm, and now I'm out," She shrugged simply.

"Indeed you are," Unnerving green eyes surveyed her thoughtfully for a long moment before she seemed to dismiss her, crossing the room to wash her hands in the basin.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to turn your back on a vampire?" She laughed throatily.

The fey-like girl lifted her eyes to pierce her in the mirror as she reached blindly for a bar of soap in the metal, goblet-shaped bowl standing beside her.

"Of course," She nodded. "Numerous times, in fact."

Katherine smirked, loosing interest in the curiously unafraid human in her grasp. She'd polished off a good portion of the blood bags downstairs but a hot meal would be perfection, wash away the last of her long stay inside that tomb.

Eyes focused on the steady thump pulsing on the side of the girl's neck, her stomach clenched with renewed hunger and she flashed forward only to lurch back with a gasp of pained shock a second later.

As if she'd been expecting her to attack, the human had ducked slightly, spinning around to face her.

She'd never even seen her raise the long glass rod.

Impaling herself in the chest, Katherine's formidable speed ensured that the make-shift weapon punctured deeply into her chest cavity, inches from her heart.

Staggering back, she ripped the foreign object free, glaring at the emerald-eyed girl cautiously.

She had fight in her.

Katherine let the glass rod drop to the marble floor with a loud clatter.

"Your heartbeat hasn't sped up even once," She mused out loud, her dark eyes running the length of the girl as the human turned back around to finish washing her hands. "That means that you're either a psychopath, in which case you don't fear me in the way that a normal human being would, or you're an idiot." She smiled. "Which is it?"

A low chuckle echoed around the room.

"Neither."

She tilted her head, both annoyed and intrigued by the answer. "Any particular reason you came to the Salvatore residence when both it's owners are away?" She asked politely.

"Looking for Elijah, actually."

Katherine's amusement vanished instantly. "What?" She growled, taking a threatening step forward.

"I heard that your boys daggered him, and I was hoping they'd left him here alone, unguarded. Sadly, it seems their stupidity does not extent to prisoner captivity."

"Are you Elijah's lover?" She demanded sharply, her eyes narrowed.

Green eyes crinkled at the corners, betraying their own amusement. "Why so interested?" She asked.

Katherine went to blur forward, done with this conversation, but before she could reach her prey she suddenly cried out, agony storming through her. Her hand was only half raised to her neck when everything went black and she fell forward, landing on the cold floor with a smack, her neck twisted at an awkward angle.

…

Rei breathed heavily, leaning back against the sink she closed her eyes, rubbing at her temples fruitlessly.

That had hurt.

She hadn't been sure she'd be able to do it, the bone breaking curse was sixth year level at least, but she'd been desperate. Knowing that the chances of getting the drop on such a paranoid, centuries old vampire again were slim to none, she'd concentrated entirely on three small bones in the upper vertebrae that Moody had shown her would break a grown man's neck.

Thankfully, Katerina Petrova was a chatty one. Their conversation had allowed her to not only throw the vampire off the real reason for her appearance here tonight, it also gave her just enough time to visualise those three, small bones and exactly how much she wanted them to shatter apart.

Still, that had been close.

With a dark scowl, the throbbing in her head excruciating, Rei turned back around and shoved her hand deep into the bronze goblet.

She knew she'd found it when a lance of pain shot up her arm, exploding in the joint of her elbow. Rei gasped, reaching out with her other hand to steady herself as her legs wobbled under her.

Glaring heatedly at her reflection, she pushed away from the sink and stepped over the unmoving vampire on the floor. Shoving the moonstone into the back pocket of her jeans, she glided swiftly from the room.

…

Isobel followed the warlock confidently, the stiletto heels of her boots clicking loudly against the polished stone floor.

"Wait here," He commanded before disappearing behind a white wood, double door.

Hands in her three-quarter length trench-coat, she waited patiently.

She hadn't been certain that her lead was correct. Finding Klaus had been the most difficult thing she'd ever researched, ever tracked. But she'd done it. A small, satisfied smirk pulled up the left side of her mouth, betraying her inner triumph.

Maddox had been most helpful.

Of course, dropping Katherine's name had helped where the warlock was concerned. He hadn't exactly been talkative. It was only after she'd mentioned her ancestor, told him that she knew where she was, that she wanted to make a deal for her freedom, an exchange that his Master would be very interested in. Only after that had he told her to follow him.

Walking towards the old, stone window at the end of the corridor, she found herself fiddling with her day-light necklace as she looked out at the vast blue-green water the ancient, Italian villa overlooked.

Katherine had said that Klaus was passionate about history, the arts.

She smirked with amusement.

Sicily would certainly give you both.

"Come."

She spun around, vaguely surprised that she hadn't heard the warlock's approach. Without a word, Isobel walked calmly through the door he was holding open for her, her eyes swiftly taking stock of the room she'd been led to.

It smelt like the sea, that was her first impression. Shafts of sunlight dominated the large, empty space, breaking up the geometric squares of black and white marble beneath her feet.

Unexpectedly, a breeze picked up her hair, the illogical phenomenon capturing her attention. Large floor to ceiling open arches, easily centuries old, solved the curious mystery quickly. They held no glass. From this position, the vast body water at the bottom of the cliff the villa had been built on was virtually unobstructed.

"Beautiful, is it not?" An amused voice murmured in her ear, hot breath ghosting past her cheek.

Swallowing back her unease, she reasoned that her startled reaction was not so strange considering how unaccustomed she was to being taken by surprise.

Isobel stepped forward, making sure her stride was long, and quickly turned around.

It only took that one look, that one glance to know that she was finally staring at the person she'd spent the past two years of her life trying to find. Her ego whispered that it was obvious who he was, that she'd found her way into his circle already, that she'd known exactly what she would face behind this door.

But she'd never been a fan of lying to herself.

Despite their logic, none of those reasons were why she knew without a doubt, that standing not three paces away from her, hands clasped casually behind his back while blue-grey eyes travelled the length of her with the barest hint of boredom, was the most feared ancient of their kind.

It was his eyes. Those eyes were so old, yet sharper than any she'd ever come across.

"Klaus…" She whispered softly, unable to stop the word from escaping her.

Ash blonde hair, caught inexplicably between curl and wave, was almost exactly as Katherine had described it. Stubble gave his young visage a roguish look, a wildness at odds with their severe surroundings.

Isobel knew she was beautiful. She'd been told often enough in her life that it had become more of a fact that a compliment, and she used the advantage that her face afforded her without guilt.

There was so much…emotion, depth, in those orbs, she'd never seen the like of it before, and Isobel knew she wasn't seeing anything but the tip of the iceberg, because too many of those emotions were unknown to her.

But one thing she knew for certain was that this man knew exactly how handsome he was. She knew, because she recognised the light in those ancient eyes, that very particular confidence was one she saw in the mirror everyday.

There was just so much _more _that she couldn't decipher.

He raised an eyebrow at her, the glimpse of a smirk on his lips betraying his humour, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Indeed," He hummed, tilting his head to observe her. "Maddox tells me that you know the whereabouts of one Katerina Petrova."

She drew in a deep breath, gaining back her equilibrium almost instantly.

"I do," She spoke clearly. "However, she has asked me to broker a trade with you. She's tired of running."

A slow, soft chuckle echoed around the cavernous space. Her face didn't change.

"I'm sure she is," He nodded, a dimple showing in his cheek as his grin widened. "And what does Katerina have that she believes would tempt me to even consider this?" His blue-grey eyes abruptly cooled. "She never struck me as a fool."

She raised her chin proudly, "The ingredients that you need to break the sun and the moon curse? She and I can deliver them to you."

She'd believed that she was looking at his true face, his true personality, maybe she had been, but she wasn't prepared for the bone chilling feeling that pierced even her emotionless state as any and all amusement abruptly fled his expression.

"The doppelgänger?" He demanded sharply and Isobel found herself nodding before she had time to think better of it.

"And the moonstone," She informed him quickly, eager at the chance he was giving her to lay all their cards on the table. "We can also provide a werewolf and vampire for the ritual, all Katherine wants in exchange is her freedom from you."

"Where?" He asked, almost genially.

Isobel shook her head immediately. "First, your word," She bargained.

His eyes narrowed on her figure, his hands still resting behind his back. "It's Isobel, isn't it?"

"Yes," She nodded, knowing better than to tell him her last name. He'd have everything about her tracked down in under an hour if she did.

He would know _everything_ before sundown.

"Ordinarily, I might be impressed by what would appear to be remarkable bravery, even loyalty." His tone was conversational, charming. "But I think we both know you don't deserve any such praise. Tell me something, Ms Flemming, or do you prefer Saltzman?"

"How did you-?" She stepped forward with alarm.

"You really think that a female vampire asking questions she shouldn't know to ask, looking for information that doesn't concern her, wouldn't have reached my ears many times over by now?" He circled her slowly, a mocking tone to his words. "You turned off your emotions early, didn't you?" He mused, looking at her as if she were a diverting puzzle that he'd already half-solved. "Perhaps, even on the day of your turning."

He stopped in front of her, leaning down so that his eyes were level with hers.

Isobel kept her silence, her pride chaffing at how easily he'd figured her out, at the mockery flashing through his eyes as he regarded her, finding her emotional wounds even when she herself remained blessedly unaffected by them.

A slow half-smirk curled up one corner of his lips.

"Well, that's no fun." He abruptly straightened up. "Why don't we bring back some of that fear you've been hiding from?"

Even knowing that the last thing she wanted to do was play his game and show her confusion, she couldn't help it. Her brow twitched, shattering her stone-cold facade.

Without warning, a large, warm hand shot out, curling brutally around the back of her neck, jerking her forward.

Merciless, blue-grey orbs caught her own wide eyes without effort.

"Flip the switch. Turn your emotions back on." He ordered softly.

Her terrible confusion was short-lived. His pupils contacted. She barely even had the time to mentally scream her denial, not understanding how he was able to do this, before the powerful compulsion took full effect and she found herself finding that spot in her mind, that switch that she'd sworn never to turn back on.

"…No," She whimpered brokenly, his face blurring as tears filled her eyes.

He pushed her away from him violently.

Isobel made no effort recover her balance, letting her body connect painfully with the polished stone she'd been admiring only minutes before. Her mind wouldn't stop remembering. The memories never-ceasing, never giving her a moments reprieve. She sobbed into her hands, overcome with horror, guilt, sadness…there was so much sadness.

"That's better," She heard a male voice croon from above her.

...

_So…, what did you think? _


	18. Reading the Answer in Her Smile

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

…

Elena glared hatefully at her mirror image. "I don't want her here," She snapped. "Get her out of here!"

"I don't really like you much either, Elena," Katherine shrugged. "But I promised that I would stay and help with the Klaus situation, so here I am."

Why was it that this woman seemed able to get under her skin like no-one else?!

"And we're just meant to believe that?" Elena scoffed loudly, beginning to pace the length of Stefan's room. "You care about no-one but yourself! We'd never be able to trust her!" She shot both Salvatore brothers an angry, imploring glare. How could they not tell her that Katherine was out of the tomb!

"She's right," Damon drawled from where he was leaning casually against the door's frame. "We can't trust you."

Elena felt her ire immediately cool, relieved that at least one of them saw her point.

Katherine twisted her neck around to give Damon an irritated look. "You need me." She stated seriously. "You have no idea what Klaus is capable of. Where he is, when he's coming, what he even looks like…? I do."

"So tell us," Stefan raised his brows at the female vampire challengingly. "I mean, if we are really in this together like you say."

"I'd be more concerned about the little visitor you had here last night," Katherine arched an eyebrow at them, smirking.

Damon immediately pushed off from the doorway, his brows drawn down into a deep frown. "What are you talking about?" He demanded. "When I came back last night the only person here was you, in my shower."

Katherine hummed, flicking through one of the aged volumes scattered across Stefan's desk.

Elena scowled. "She's lying. That's all she ever does."

"Wrong again," Her ancestor sung, but the dark look in her eyes as she lifted them to connect with Elena's identical brown betrayed her deep hatred for the human doppelgänger. "But since we're all after the same thing...Klaus dead, I suppose I should tell you." She mused thoughtfully, purposefully dragging out the tension.

"You want to work with us, Katherine?" Stefan crossed his arms, attracting the room's attention. "Don't play games with us."

Shocked, Elena turned incredulous eyes on her boyfriend, unable to believe that he actually thought that something as simple as that could possibly have any impact on a succubus such as her. Hazel orbs darted over to her quickly, sensing her gaze, and she immediately relaxed at the cautious light that they held.

He was bluffing.

Katherine surveyed them for a long moment before speaking. "I don't know her name. She never introduced herself. But she was looking for Elijah, she knew that he'd been daggered mere hours after the fact. Curious, isn't it?"

"She was looking for Elijah?" Elena gasped, exchanging alarmed looks with both brothers. "How? There was no-one up at the Lake house but us. How would this person know where to come looking?" She glanced between them quickly, searching for answers.

"His witches," Stefan suggested.

"Didn't you say that they were warlocks?" Katherine gave him a disappointed look, as if she'd expected more intelligence from him than that.

Elena gritted her teeth, despising the way the female vampire acted like she had a say in anything. As if she were the automatic queen of the manor.

"He's an Original," Elena snapped back. "He can't have more than two warlocks in his service? Now who's being naïve?" she smiled nastily.

Katherine shot her a withering stare.

Without warning, a ring-tone suddenly pierced through the room, distracting them.

Seeing Damon pull his phone from his back pocket and check the screen, she sighed. "Can't you let it go to voice-mail, Damon?" Elena asked him.

Ice-blue orbs flicked up to connect with her. "I would, but this is now the third time that Rick's tried calling me in the last half-hour. He's not usually so needy." Something could be wrong, she heard the unsaid words.

"The good-looking hunter, right?" Katherine smirked. "Isobel's hubby?"

"Not any more," She was quick to correct, her voice cold.

"You'd better answer it," Stefan told his brother.

With a nod of agreement Damon swiftly brought the phone to his ear. "What's up, Rick?"

Elena watched with slight amusement as Damon quickly pulled the phone away with a wince, as if the person on the other end was speaking at a volume he hadn't been expecting.

"What do you mean, what did I do to Rei?" Damon scowled.

Rei…

The smallest frown twitched at the skin between her eyebrows as Elena stared at the elder Salvatore's bewildered visage.

"How is that my fault?!" He suddenly exclaimed.

Seeing the mildly interested looks on both Stefan and Katherine's faces she couldn't help but wish that she too was able to hear what her history teacher was saying right now.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Oh please, princess is well able to take care of herself, Rick."

Elena felt the air catch in her throat, her eyes widening with disbelief as she heard what was undoubtedly his nickname for her. She quickly dropped her eyes to the floor, not wanting anyone to see her ridiculous reaction to such a small thing.

But it wasn't a small thing.

There was nothing small about it.

Stefan had told her how Damon had acted when he'd seen Rei's injuries, how he'd insisted on feeding her his blood. She'd seen his concern for the English girl first hand that night at the Grill. At the time she'd brushed it off, there were more pressing issues to deal with…but now? Everywhere she looked, in what felt like _every_ conversation, her name kept coming up.

The one-sided dialogue seemed to fade into the background as her thoughts raced.

Somewhere, somehow, Damon and Rei Potter had become…friends. He cared for her. The nickname, his behaviour that night, feeding her his blood…they were the sorts of things that Damon did when he cared for someone.

She should know.

But…when?

When had this happened? Where had she been? Before that night at the Grill she had been so certain in the knowledge that he deeply disliked Rei, that he didn't trust her. That she was someone he had to keep an eye on, protect her against.

So, when had it changed to…this?

"Huh…" Damon's abrupt exhale instantly broke her out of her thoughts and she glanced up to see him staring down at the phone's screen with a peculiar look on his face. A sort of dread mixed with…disbelieving anger?

"Damon?" Stefan prompted with a confused frown. "What is it?"

Oh no, her heart sank, had something happened?

Ice-blue orbs suddenly snapped up, piercing Katherine intensely. "This person that was in the boarding house last night?…It wouldn't have happened to be a short, curly haired knock-out, would it?"

Katherine slowly turned around to face him, her eyes narrowed.

Damon grimaced. "English accent?" He asked hopefully, as if that final detail might change the answer they could all already read in her smile.

...

"She's out of the tomb?" Bonnie breathed, horrified.

Stefan nodded solemnly, "Look, just be careful, alright? She's gotten a little too good at impersonating Elena."

"With Katherine out of the tomb we really need to find a way to get you your powers back," Jeremy muttered under his breath, shooting her a significant look.

Bonnie bit her lip hard, clutching her textbooks to her chest defensively. She never thought it would be this hard to go back to living without magic. She'd lived without it for sixteen years and never missed it. But now? She'd never felt so…vulnerable.

"Er," Stefan scratched the back of his head nervously. "There's something else you should know. Especially with how much time you've been spending together…" He trailed off at her curious look, coughing. "Rei came to the Boarding House looking for Elijah last night."

"What?" She gasped.

She knew Rei hadn't been happy about what they'd done…she'd made that perfectly clear last night, but to actually go looking for Elijah? She must have meant to pull the dagger from his chest, reanimate him. But why?! How could she do this to them?!

"Did you or Caroline say anything to her about Elijah?" Stefan asked gently.

Bonnie abruptly stiffened. "This is not our fault!" She hissed.

His eyes widened with surprise. "What? No, no, Bonnie," He raised his hand up quickly. "That's not what I meant at all!"

"Rei is our friend!" Her voice was soft, but harsh, her fingers digging into the folder she was clutching to her chest. "She's been nothing but-" She cut herself off and took a deep breath to try to calm the emotions swirling inside of her. "…Rei was angry," Bonnie admitted softly, looking up into Stefan's considering eyes hesitantly. "She didn't think that…"

"...Didn't think what, Bonnie?" Stefan pressed when she didn't continue. "Why was she angry?"

Bonnie looked away, conflicted. She couldn't tell him why Rei had been furious with them last night. He wouldn't understand, none of them would.

When she'd first heard the English girl's argument, Bonnie had almost seen red. She'd been horrified that Rei could think like that. But then she'd heard what she was saying, actually listened to her argument. And her conscience hadn't screamed. Her heart had hurt, frightened for Elena. But her conscience?

She was still trying to wrap her mind around everything, and she'd heard it directly from the source! If she told Stefan and Jeremy, she knew exactly how it would sound, and that wasn't fair because Rei hadn't meant it like that! She just didn't know how to explain it in a way that wouldn't make Rei look like she was their enemy. She couldn't even fathom the sorts of looks they'd give her for even trying to defend her friend's motives.

"It doesn't matter," She whispered at the floor, for the first time appreciating how difficult it must have been for Rei to even speak up in the first place.

It was like a no-win situation.

"Why would Rei try to help Elijah?" Jeremy asked suspiciously. "Do you think they were working together?" He asked Stefan.

"Don't be ridiculous!" She snapped.

He frowned at her. "You're not the least bit worried about why she went over there looking for him?"

How could she tell him that no, she wasn't, because she knew Rei had done that with the best of intentions? Probably at a time when she wasn't thinking very clearly. That in the light of day, Bonnie knew that the black-haired girl wasn't that reckless, that she wouldn't act in a way which would put Elena in danger.

Even if Rei was angry with them, Bonnie trusted her.

"I'll talk to her," She told them both firmly. "I know you're worried, but you don't know the circumstances, guys. This isn't what it looks like," She assured them feelingly.

"How can you say that?!" Jeremy demanded.

"You know why she went over there," Stefan realised.

"I do," She nodded at Elena's boyfriend, unable to bring herself to look in Jeremy's direction. "I'll handle it…I promise."

…

"So," Katherine purred, draped lazily over the settee opposite him. "This Rei character, she must be very new to your little group."

Damon turned a page of the journal he was reading deliberately slowly, knowing that his continuing silence was annoying her.

"Why haven't you left in a storm of fury to confront her, hmm?" She arched an eyebrow at him. "It's not like you. I almost expected to see you throwing her in the cell next to Elijah's for her…betrayal."

Unable to let that sit, he lifted his eyes with a warning glare.

"She didn't betray me-us," Damon was quick to correct himself. It wasn't wise to give Katherine any sort of personal information, she would only use it to hurt you. "Elijah saved her life." He admitted grudgingly.

And Rei certainly didn't seem the type to sit back and watch, that was for sure. He wasn't even that surprised to be honest. In a way, he admired her for it. That she was that loyal.

She was wrong, there was no doubting that. And he would lock her in a room upstairs if she tried to do something so stupid again, but he had a feeling that she wouldn't. Not when she realised the consequences for Rick, Elena, himself, everyone in Mystic Falls if she did successfully awaken the Original lying in their basement.

Katherine rose to her feet slowly. "And what? Now, the human girl believes that he cares for her?" She scoffed derisively.

Damon ground his teeth together. "Don't you have anything better to do than annoy me?"

"No. I'm here to help, Damon. We want the same thing. Maybe if you tell me why you're looking through the Gilbert family journals with such dedication I might be able to help."

He turned a page. "Can you tell me where one hundred witches were murdered?"

"No-"

"Then you can't help," He interrupted with a sarcastic smile.

"Fine," Katherine threw him a sharp look. "Perhaps I'll go out then, get a snack. Maybe this Rei character will be up for a bite?" She smiled cruelly.

Damon let the journal fall to his lap.

"There's something that's been bugging me," He narrowed his eyes on her suddenly pleased looking figure, irritated when he realised that he'd just given her exactly what she wanted; his attention. "How is it, that a defenceless human wanders into your midst, alone, and yet leaves here with a pulse?"

He watched her face carefully, determined to catch even the smallest shift in expression, but she betrayed nothing.

Instead, a delighted chuckle fell from her lips.

Katherine pointed at him in sudden realisation. "You _care_ about her." Dark brown orbs danced with mischievous curiosity. "Well, this is interesting. Bonnie, Jeremy, even Caroline, they make sense, they're your people, no matter how much they might annoy you. You and the hunter have bonded over your love of alcohol and how the women in your life leave you, and your attachment to Elena is obvious, but this new girl? How did she mange to worm her way into Damon Salvatore's hard-won affections so easily, hmm?"

…

Luka watched his Father warily, not liking the determined look in his eyes as he swiftly gathered materials from all around the apartment.

"What if they can find the site of the witches massacre, Dad?" He finally voiced the question that had been floating around his thoughts since they'd left Stefan and Bonnie back at the Grill.

"They won't," Jonas stated harshly. "We tried to find it, Luka. For months!"

"But-!"

"Elijah is the way to get Greta back, not those people."

He looked away, not knowing what to think. Bonnie had seemed so real, so truthful when she'd asked them to trust her, to work together to find a solution. But she'd disappointed him before. He never thought she was capable of doing what she had, drugging him, lying about it, forcing him to reveal information that Elijah would kill him for.

"Are you going to kill them?" Luka asked softly, unable to bring himself to raise his eyes from the carpet at his feet.

"No." His head snapped up at that answer, not understanding. Jonas met his eyes with a dark anger burning in his own. "I'm going to let Elijah do that."

He swallowed hard, the image of Bonnie's dead body flashing across his mind's eye.

Wracking his brain for something, anything that would help, any alternative, he suddenly gasped. "What about the witch?!"

Luka couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before! His Father had told him what she was. That the rumours about a different kind of magic-user were real. That she was powerful, that Elijah had known her by name.

Jonas's fingers stilled, the page of the grimoire he was holding, about to turn, floating back down to its original position as his eyes lifted with consideration.

Luka stepped forward, eager to make his case. "They wouldn't suspect her, Dad. And she would have no reason to help vampires."

"It is never wise to assume such things, Luka," His Father reprimanded sharply. "Elijah said that she had contact with Elena Gilbert, that she was integrating herself into the community of Mystic Falls with remarkable skill."

"I don't even know what that means!" He threw his arms wide with frustration.

"Exactly." Jonas stated seriously, his eyes drifting down to the framed photo of Greta that rested on the table-top. "We can't risk it. We need to awaken Elijah now…We don't have the time to try to convince Rei Potter to help us."

…

"I'm surprised to see you here," Alaric admitted, sliding into the empty seat at the bar-counter beside her. "You haven't answered any of my calls."

Rei gave him a small, apologetic smile, sweeping back the black curls that had fallen over her shoulder as she pushed the fruit in her drink around with a red straw.

"Sorry," She murmured. "Been distracted."

"That wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a certain Original vampire, would it?" He asked, motioning the barman for a drink.

She didn't seem surprised by his knowledge though. "Yes,…and no."

"You wouldn't answer your door when I knocked this morning," He reminded her, giving her a look. "Bit childish of you, don't you think?"

Rei exhaled loudly, "I was angry, I didn't want to say anything I would regret."

Alaric looked at her with concern. "Why are you so upset about this, Rei? I get that Elijah helped you, but that doesn't account for you flipping out and storming over to the Boarding House to yank the dagger out of his chest." The others mightn't have thought twice about her reason for being there last night, but it hadn't sat right with him.

Surprised emerald orbs instantly darted over to him, and he knew that he was right.

She'd gone to the Boarding House for something else.

"What is it, Rei?" He asked seriously, worried about her.

She let out a harsh breath.

"Fine," Pushing her drink away, she swivelled round in her chair to face him. "I took the moonstone."

Alaric's entire body froze at those words, his eyes widening impossibly as he stared at her with absolute disbelief. Seeing the serious look in her eyes, the casual way she'd stated her theft, he realised that she was telling the truth.

"What?" He hissed at her. "Why in God's name would you do that?! You have to give it back to Damon right now! Wait," He stopped, not noticing that Rei was staring at him with growing amusement. "No, scratch that. Damon can't know that you took it, he'll kill you." He suddenly clicked his fingers together, "I know! I'll call him, have him meet me here, Stefan's out with Elena so you'll be free to sneak back in and put it back where you found it." He nodded to himself, liking the plan.

"What about the sadistic, over four centuries old unwanted house guest?" Rei tilted her head at him, a smile on her lips.

He cursed at his own forgetfulness.

"Okay, no problem, we'll just have to figure out a way to get all three of them out of the house." He muttered to himself, his mind flying through possibilities quickly. God, they needed to get that stone back where Damon had hidden it before anyone was the wiser.

"…I'm not giving it back, Alaric," Rei told him gently.

Understandably preoccupied, his mind didn't register the words immediately, but it didn't take long. Imaginative scenarios, lies, possible contingency plans, they all came to an immediate, crashing halt.

With a feeling like his stomach had just dropped out of his body, Alaric spun around to face her. "What do you mean you're not giving it back?" He kept his voice down with effort. "What use is the stone to you, Rei?!"

"None," She nodded at him in agreement, taking a sip of her fruity mock-tail. "But, putting aside the fact that it's far safer with me than in a house that half a dozen people already know it's hidden in," She rolled her eyes and Alaric couldn't help but wince, realising that she was right. "I was the one that gave it to Elijah in the first place."

He sucked in a sharp breath.

She gave it to Elijah? When? Why? How did she even have it?!

All his questions must have shown on his face because she suddenly frowned and grabbed his arm. "I can trust you, can't I, Alaric?" Rei asked seriously, staring deeply into his eyes. "I'm not going to use the stone, or give it to the vampire that wants to kill Elena, Alaric." She stated strongly, as if offended that he would think that of her.

He swallowed dryly. "…Then why?"

She glanced away from him. "I don't think Elena was right to dagger Elijah. Even thinking about the way she did it…my stomach feels sick." She breathed out harshly. "I gave him the stone as payment for helping me, Alaric. He didn't have to." He looked down, remembering his own surprised relief that the Original had chosen to help her. "I didn't intend that it change hands, and certainly not like that."

Alaric sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. "What if there's a way to neutralise the curse that the stone holds? Bonnie needs to be able to examine it."

Rei scoffed derisively, surprising him. "Please, Alaric. That curse is centuries old. If it was able to be neutralised it would have happened already." She stated her words with such conviction that he couldn't help believing her. After-all, he'd thought the same thing when the others brought it up.

"Jesus," He groaned. "This is a mess."

"I don't think so," Rei shook her head, unconcerned. "No-one but the two of us know that I even have it. The moonstone couldn't be safer."

She had a point. Plus, they hadn't found it when she'd possessed it before, maybe the best place for it really was with Rei?

"If someone finds out that you have it, you could be in danger," He warned her softly, eyeing her worriedly.

Rei flashed him an impish smirk from over her tall glass. "Best not tell anyone then."

...

"Chinese or pizza?" Caroline asked.

Elena smiled, "Do you even have to ask?"

The blonde looked down at her iPad, about to place their order, when her face dropped. She and Bonnie shared a confused glance before the witch raised up on her tip-toes to look over Caroline's shoulder to see what had put that look in her eyes. Elena watched with confusion as her best friend's hazel-green orbs suddenly softened.

"I'll do it," Bonnie murmured, reaching a hand out to take the tablet away from her gently.

As the screen moved, Elena caught sight of the picture of Matt and Caroline on the day of the parade and understanding quickly filled her.

"Alright," The blonde sighed, her voice scratchy. "Um, okay, changing the subject," She coughed, shaking her head as if to dispel any depressing thoughts before sky blue eyes suddenly snapped up, piercing her. "Want to tell me why I wasn't allowed to invite Rei to our girl's night, Elena?" She asked crossly, folding her arms with an unimpressed look on her face.

Honestly surprised by the question, she looked towards Bonnie for an explanation only to see a small, confused frown in between the witch's eyebrows. That was weird, she thought, Stefan had told her that Bonnie knew.

Turning back towards an impatiently waiting Caroline, she breathed in deeply. "We found out something this morning," Elena began, a disappointed tone in her voice. "Apparently, Rei went over to the Boarding House last night trying to find Elijah. She was going to pull the dagger out of him."

Sky blue eyes were enormous as they stared at her, Caroline's mouth hanging open at her words.

What she never expected was Bonnie's reaction.

"That's why you told Caroline not to invite her?" She frowned. "I told Stefan that I would take care of this, Elena! You don't need to shun her."

She felt her mouth opening and closing a few times, at a loss for words, her best friend's vehemence shocking her.

"What do you mean she went looking for Elijah?!" Caroline squawked.

Bonnie spun around to face their blonde friend. "I told Stefan that it wasn't what it looked like this morning, Care." She shot Elena a look over her shoulder, an almost panicked emotion in her eyes. Elena frowned deeply, her own confusion mounting. "Would you tell her?" Bonnie pointed back at her. "Tell Elena that it's not what everyone is thinking."

But Caroline seemed unable to, clearly still trying to process the information that she'd just been told.

Elena felt her own temper start to spark, annoyed that it seemed that once again she was in the dark, and, like it always seemed to these days, it somehow concerned Rei Potter.

"Bonnie, what are you talking about?" She demanded, pushing a hand through her hair roughly. "She went to the Boarding House to release Elijah. How can that not be what it looks like?!"

Bonnie gave her a helpless sort of look. "Elena, just…trust me," She pleaded.

She let out a disbelieving laugh. "You're not going to tell me?" Her eyes swung between the two girls, some part of her convinced that this was some kind of joke. Why couldn't they tell her?!

"Elena…" Caroline stepped forwards, her palms outstretched, finally joining the conversation. "Please, Bonnie's right. You just have to trust us, Rei isn't-she's not working against us." Her face was strained, apologetic.

Elena stared at her two best-friends with disbelief. "That's it?" She snapped. "That's all I get?!"

"It's personal, Elena," Bonnie said softly, a pleading look in her eyes.

She frowned incredulously. "What? _To_ _Rei_? It's personal to Rei?" Her eyes wouldn't stop darting between them, determinedly searching their faces for an answer. "Okay, you know normally, I'd get that, but this isn't a normal situation. If Elijah was there and she did pull the dagger out of him she could have put us all in serious danger! He would have killed Stefan, Damon, maybe even Alaric, and taken me away!"

Caroline took Elena's hands in her own, looking her straight in the eye. "We understand that Elena, we do. But please, we can't…we can't tell you why, but Rei…it's not what you think." She ended miserably. "Can't you just trust us? Please?"

Elena felt like screaming, ripping her hair out with frustration. What was she supposed to say to that?! No? That she didn't trust them? Her best friends? Talk about inviting World War Three.

But Why?! Her heart constricted in her chest. Why wouldn't they tell her? They'd only known Rei for a few months, they'd known her their whole lives! She didn't think it was crazy to think that she should mean more to them! That explaining the situation to _her _should take precedence over keeping whatever it was that Rei had obviously told them secret!

"Elena?" Bonnie asked, her expression hopeful.

"…Fine," She said on a laugh. She didn't really have a choice, did she?

Caroline beamed at her happily, sharing a bright look with Bonnie over her shoulder.

"Great!" The blonde vampire chirped. "Now that that's all settled, I'm going to go call her to see if she wants to join us," She said, already turning around to search for her phone.

"No don't!" Elena protested, lunging forward to restrain her hand in a tight grip.

Her two friends exchanged long looks.

"…Elena, please, I already told you," Bonnie stated with a certain amount of exasperation. "You don't need to shun her. Rei isn't dangerous, she's hardly involved in any of our problems."

Somehow, she doubted that. No, it had become all too clear to her that Rei Potter was anything but removed from her world.

"No, I heard you," She assured them both, knowing that Caroline was doubtlessly thinking the same thing. "But can't tonight just be, you know, the three of us?" She pleaded. "You two are my best friends and it's supposed to be girls night. I want to be able to relax, dance on tables, that sort of thing. With Rei here I'll have to be polite and tone it down, you know?"

Caroline shook her head quickly, a grin on her face. "Are you kidding? Believe me, Rei might seem a little serious when you first meet her, but she's got more of a wild side to her than you'd ever think."

Bonnie smothered a giggle behind her hand, obviously remembering a particular instance judging by the humour filled smirks that she and Caroline exchanged.

Elena swallowed past the lump in her throat with difficultly. "We can invite her next time," She stated firmly.

Finally realising that she was serious, Bonnie nodded with a hesitant smile while Caroline pursed her lips unhappily but didn't say anything else in argument.

"It'll be just like old times!" Elena grinned at them enthusiastically, trying desperately to bring back the playful atmosphere that had filled the Gilbert kitchen before Rei Potter's name had been spoken.

...


	19. Progress

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

…

_Thank-you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, as always, I really appreciate the feedback that you gave me ;D_

...

"Alaric," Rei dragged out the word obnoxiously, letting her head hang between her shoulders. "Come on, give me a break here! You haven't shut up about Jenna for the last fourty-five minutes!"

The hunter gave her a dirty look. "Fine, we'll change the subject."

"Thank-you!" She sniped.

"So, tell me, why aren't you dating anyone?" His tone was innocent but the glint in his eyes told her that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Rei scoffed. "I just moved countries, Alaric. Hell, continents. I'm not really in the boyfriend hunting type of mood."

"Oh, I don't know. Something tells me that you've never had to resort to hunting."

"Okay, fine! You want my opinion on the Jenna situation?" She snapped at him.

He nodded, "I do."

"Come clean," Rei shrugged.

"She's Elena's aunt," Alaric shook his head sadly. "Ultimately, it's her decision and she doesn't want her to know yet."

Taking a sip from the alcoholic cocktail she'd managed to charm out of the bartender earlier; Rei observed his depressed slouch from the corner of her eye. "She actually say that?"

"Elena was angry with John for bringing up Isobel around Jenna, but yeah. She's sympathetic, and I think that she knows we can't keep her in the dark for much longer, but she just doesn't know how to tell her about everything."

Fair point, Rei conceded silently, but the longer they put it off, the worse she would take it.

"So, you're going to break up with her?" She asked quietly.

Alaric's lips curved up into a bitter smile. "Pretty sure she already did that."

At that precise moment, emerald eyes caught the entrance of four familiar figures walking through the Grill doors, and winced. "Then this is going to get very awkward, very fast."

Following her line of sight, Alaric groaned. "No way."

"Oh, buck up!" Rei jabbed him playfully with her elbow. "You can't be that surprised to see them here. From what I've been able to gather, a live band at the Grill is a monumental event," She drawled sarcastically.

He turned around to give her a humour-filled look. "You really have a thing against small town life, don't you?"

"I'm just used to a somewhat more exciting environment," She rolled her eyes.

"More exciting than vampires, kidnapping werewolves and endless charity events?" He smirked, drinking deeply from his tumbler full of bourbon.

She waved his joking question aside; her eyes having picked up a surprised bundle of blonde energy headed their way.

"Rei!" Caroline squealed happily, making Alaric jump with surprise.

"I hate that vampires make no noise when they sneak up behind you," The hunter grumbled under his breath.

"I didn't know that you were coming to this thing tonight," Caroline said with the barest hint of disapproval, showing no signs that she'd heard her teacher's comment. "You should have told me."

Rei raised an amused eyebrow at the blonde. "Is that so? Then why didn't you tell me that you were coming?"

She'd meant the words to be teasing, a fact that she was sure Caroline knew, but for some reason the vampire's face suddenly dropped, the smile slipping from her face.

Before she could question her another voice interrupted their conversation.

"Alaric!" Turning around, she saw a happily surprised Elena gliding towards them when brown eyes suddenly flicked over to her. "…And, Rei…" Elena finished weakly, and for the second time tonight she saw a smile vanish from somebody's lips.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was wrong.

Rei smiled politely, "Hello Elena."

The brunette gave her a tight, mute nod before turning to Alaric. "Um, Rick? Can I talk to you?" She asked, the short jerk of her head telling everyone that she wanted that word to be had in private.

With a covert, questioning glance at her, Alaric coughed. "Sure." He nodded, rising from the bar stool.

Emerald eyes surveyed the crowd curiously. "…I'm guessing she's mad because of what I said about Elijah, huh?" Rei asked the stiff blonde standing beside her.

"Nope," Caroline's tone was sharp and clipped, immediately capturing her attention.

She looked up to see the vampire watching the pair walking away from them with a small scowl wrinkling her forehead.

"No?"

Sky blue eyes suddenly snapped down to lock on hers with a glare. "Of course not!" She snapped. "You really think Bonnie or I told anyone what you said?"

Her eyebrows shot up with surprise. "Honestly? Yeah, I did. I didn't ask you guys to keep what I said to yourselves, Care. When Alaric didn't say anything to me about it, I just assumed he was being tactful."

But, if anything, the words just seemed to anger her. The blonde unceremoniously plopped down on the stool Alaric had just vacated with a full-blown scowl on her face.

"Give us a little more credit, Rei." Her handbag connected loudly with the countertop. "For all we knew Damon and Stefan would have killed you for even suggesting that their method to save Elena's life was wrong."

"I can take care of myself, Caroline." She reminded her sharply. "You don't need to keep it a secret, especially if it's causing problems." Which it was, if the tension she'd sensed between the blonde and brunette earlier was anything to go by. "Where's Bonnie anyway?"

Looking thankful for the change in subject, a slow grin finally made its way back onto the vampire's face as she pointed towards a dimly-lit spot just below the stage.

Slow-dancing, with her arms wrapped loosely around Jeremy's neck, was a blissful looking Bonnie Bennet.

"Good for her," Rei laughed.

Caroline hummed and giggled in agreement from beside her before she abruptly cut off.

In a flurry of graceless movements she was suddenly sitting pin straight on her stool, sky blue eyes enormous and focused on something across the room.

Frowning, it only took one look before she understood. Rolling her eyes, Rei relaxed back against the counter with an exasperated exhale. "Seriously, Care, just go talk to him," She waved her arm towards the working busboy lazily.

"And what am I supposed to say?" The blonde hissed at her venomously, not appreciating her blasé attitude. "He wants to know why I'm all over the place when it comes to him…I can't tell him the truth!"

Seeing that she was honestly upset about this, Rei suppressed a loud sigh and instead asked, "Why not?"

Caroline gaped at her like she'd just claimed the sky was yellow. "That's not something you just tell someone!" She insisted in an intense whisper. "What if he can't handle it?"

"You've known him all your life, you'd know better than most how he'd handle it. In any case, if you actually want your relationship to go anywhere he has to know, Caroline." Rei bit her tongue to stop the words about this being one of the reasons that cross-species romantic relationships didn't work from leaving her.

The human/vampire entanglements in this town truly baffled her. She just didn't see the appeal of loving someone immortal when you had no intention of joining them in that state. It simply wouldn't work. No matter how much you wanted it to. But they kept trying.

Seemed insane to her.

But it was certainly none of her business. Her opinions on who people did or did not become involved with was something she'd learned a long time ago to keep silent on.

"I suppose you're right," Caroline mused thoughtfully, chewing on her lower lip anxiously as she stared at the cute quarterback. "He makes me happy, Rei," She admitted softly. "I'm scared that if he knows…"

"He won't want to make you happy anymore," Rei finished for her. The blonde nodded miserably. "Then be happy. If circumstances change, if it becomes more serious or he somehow finds out, deal with it then." Even as she spoke the advice her better judgement seemed to scoff at her derisively.

Still, she didn't feel too guilty for telling Caroline what she clearly wished to hear. They were both still in high school, the chances of them staying together, of being each other's other half, were remote. In this instance, perhaps the truth wasn't warranted. A needless impediment to an otherwise simple situation.

"You're right," Caroline suddenly nodded, determination shining in her blue orbs.

Without another word, the blonde jumped off the stool and strode through the crowd, pushing her way through the press of people towards the stage.

Catching Bonnie's eyes, Rei waved goodbye as she collected her string bag from its place at her feet. Navigating skilfully around the edges of the room, she slipped outside just as Caroline's voice sounded over the microphone.

…

"Can I help you?" Damon asked as politely as he could manage.

Katherine draped herself over his shoulder. "I'm bored," She complained. Before he could shut the journal she suddenly perked up and half-grabbed the book to more easily read the words. "Emily Bennet was taken by the Council today. They burned her at the same location her ancestors were killed a hundred years ago…So Emily died on the site of the massacre," She leaned forward, pulling at the journal. "Does it say where?"

He ripped it away from her. "Nope." Angling it so she wouldn't be able to read any more of the entry, he tilted his neck back. "This friendly, cooperative thing?"

She raised an eyebrow at him curiously. "Yes?"

"I don't buy it."

"I have no reason to lie to you, Damon." When he didn't answer she huffed, straightening up. "I'm hungry."

"Then go feed yourself, we're not a hotel."

The weight of her cool eyes was heavy as she regarded him for a long, silent moment, waiting for him to crack. He didn't though, and she eventually left the room; giving up or making a tactical retreat, he didn't know.

Damon heard his brother approach long before he saw him.

"Find anything?" Stefan asked quietly.

Concentrating his hearing, he only spoke once he was sure that Katherine was indeed downstairs fetching herself a blood bag from his stock. "Nope." Lifting the journal, he pointed to the third paragraph down.

Stefan read the words quickly. "That's too bad," He murmured out loud, keeping up appearances.

Damon smirked at his little brother triumphantly. "Yeah, bummer."

"Damon!"

He looked up at the frantic call of his name. Exchanging a confused look with Stefan, he blurred out of the room and down to the basement only to come face to face with Katherine's pained features as she pulled a wooden stake out of her abdomen.

"What happened?!" He demanded sharply, stepping into the dungeon-like cell they were storing Elijah's body in.

But words weren't needed. At that exact moment he caught movement from the corner of his eye and swung round. The sliver dagger imbedded in the Original's chest was moving! Something was pulling it free!

Acting fast, he reached for the flame thrower, not knowing what else to do, and pulled the lever. Bright, hot flames poured into the room and he wasted no time in directing it toward the deceptively empty air above Elijah's chest.

"What are you doing?!" Stefan shouted from behind him.

Not letting up, Damon squinted his eyes at the flames, trying to make-out something, but there was nothing there. "Some crazy-ass, psychic witch attack! I'm trying to shut it down! Get over there and do something about it. Now!" He ordered harshly.

The tell-tale displacement of air a moment later was all the evidence he needed to know that Stefan was long gone.

…

Rei looked up from the Charms text she was reading at the sound of rapid knocks on her front door. Frowning, she was in the process of placing the red-ribbon book mark inside the aged parchment when her new door abruptly banged open, bouncing back violently against the wall it had been thrown against.

A familiar, tall, dark man stormed inside, his furious black eyes alighting on her seated figure in the living room.

"Dr Martin," Rei arched a cool eyebrow, her eyes sweeping over his ragged looking body swiftly. "You realise that you're breaking and entering, don't you?" She rose from the couch slowly, cautiously.

His breathing was loud. Short breaths of air that dominated the silence as he glared at her with a dark, vicious light in his eyes.

Emerald orbs narrowed.

"Luka is dead," The warlock spat through clenched teeth. "My son is dead because of those _people._" Rei blinked, feeling utterly bewildered. "I refuse to lose another child. Elijah is my only chance of getting my Greta back, and you, you're going to help me." Jonas ordered harshly.

Eyes that had softened with the beginnings of sympathy suddenly hardened, bright green transforming into chips of black ice.

"Am I?" She asked softly.

The warlock's lips twisted into a cruel grin as his head tilted to the side, surveying her expression of cool rebellion with dark, desperate humour.

"Elijah," He let out a bark of humourless laughter. "He didn't really want to talk about you, refused to answer almost all of my questions. Said that you were none of my concern." Jonas took a step towards her but Rei held her stance, staring him down. "But he did say that you were powerful. Even amongst those of your…kind," He spat the last word as if it were a curse; unnatural. "Well, I don't care anymore. I won't lose another one of my children and if you can help me get Greta back," He suddenly let out a harsh bark of laughter, almost within arms length now. "You'll help me, whether you want to or not."

Rei tilted her neck back slightly in order to stare up at him through the square-framed glasses he wore, her arms folded across her chest.

"How did he die?" She asked softly, her voice strong.

He faltered, his brow twitching with confusion as she effortlessly turned the emotional tables on him. Meeting his cruelty, his anger, with untarnished, cool regard.

"What?" He breathed hoarsely, but she caught it. The flash of soul deep agony in his black eyes. The evidence of someone who had lost everything that meant a thing to him in this world.

A person who was on the edge of sanity his pain was so raw.

"Luka," Rei whispered. "Your son. How did he die?"

The warlock suddenly staggered backwards, his hands outstretched towards her as if to ward off a fatal physical attack, his face crumpling as tears gathered in his eyes.

"Don't," He ordered lowly, his voice guttural.

"Bonnie; she told me about your son. She said that Luka was bright, innovative, alive with magic." Rei kept her voice soft but steady, bringing to bear a whole different kind of siege on the man's defences. "I know that the others need all the help they can get if they hope to save Elena Gilbert from her fate. I know that Elijah had far more of a chance of taking Klaus down than an untried witch and two century-and-half old vampires."

"Stop!" He shouted loudly, flinging away the arm he'd brought up to hide his face from her.

But she didn't stop.

"I know that a parent would do anything for his child. I know that the kind of desperation you're feeling is the type that grows with time, the sort that feeds on your nightmares." She followed his retreating figure steadily, stalked him the same way he'd been stalking her a moment ago. Never letting up. "I know that you can lose sight of the bigger picture when you live for that long, and that deep, in a well of consuming dread and fear."

The powerful warlock suddenly hit the wall he'd been backing into, his body jumping with shock. His eyes snapped back to watch her slowly approaching figure with a certain kind of vicious defeat.

Barely an arms breadth away from Jonas's haggardly breathing figure, Rei stopped.

"So how did he die, Dr Martin?" She asked the question again, a knowing judgement in her eyes as she stared back into the black orbs burning with hatred for her.

He didn't answer. All he did was glare. The amount of loathing pointed at her might have been confronting if she hadn't faced this exact same situation a hundred times before.

It was the hate of a person that couldn't bear to put the blame where it really belonged. Themselves. She'd lost count of the number of people that blamed her. Children, parents, aunts, wives, husbands, it didn't matter, there were too many to keep track of.

The people that refused to pick up a wand and defend themselves and those they loved when Death Eaters came crashing into their home. The people that stood in the crowd and just watched, horror-stricken, as the Yaxley twins grabbed a well-liked colleague from the crowd and executed them.

The person that turned around after the Battle of Hogwarts, turned around and said, why did you take so long? Why couldn't you have killed him sooner?

"I'm sorry about your son, Dr Martin," Rei kept her voice level with difficulty, looking down at the half crouched figure pressed against her wall with barely concealed disgust. "I am. But Luka's fate was no fault of mine."

She turned away.

"You owe me," He hissed lethally at her back. Rei turned her neck to peer over her shoulder. "The werewolves; they would have killed you if it weren't for me."

Pushing down her anger, she turned back around to face him.

"What is it that you expect me to do, Dr Martin?" She inquired cooly, not voicing her knowledge that his actions at the time were only at the behest of Elijah.

He rose to his feet, gaining back his confidence with a swiftness that left her in no doubt of his real character.

"Expect you to do?" He echoed mockingly. "No, I'm much more certain than that. You will help me, witch, I can assure you."

Rei was expecting it.

The blast of air was powerful, throwing her back, but she controlled her body and followed the air currents with the precision of a master, landing in a crouch in front of her empty fireplace.

Looking up, she met his narrowed eyes through slits of anger.

Without warning, lances of agony spliced through her muscles, triggering spasms. Growling under her breath, Rei grit her teeth and forced her mind to concentrate.

With all the subtlety of splinters infiltrating her system, the foreign Wiccan magic was easy to locate. Using her abundant anger to fuel her need, Rei pushed against the force, driving it back. She vaguely heard Jonas shout out a denial but she paid it no mind. Exerting a will that had seen her through hell, Rei took one last, deep breath before violently shoving the warlock's power out of her body.

But she'd learnt the importance of driving home your advantage a long time ago.

Rei had always had an enviable control over her raw magical core that few but the most powerful of her kind were ever capable of. She'd been hounded and violated by mind mages since she was eleven, Rei knew a weak point when she saw one.

And she didn't appreciate being attacked…no matter his reasons.

Following the retreating power back to its source, Rei drove her own magic unmercifully into channels that had never before encountered an assault of this kind.

Jonas cried out, falling back against the wall his body instinctively went rigid, trying to protect itself from a threat he couldn't even see.

Rei straightened slowly, emerald eyes furious and dark as they focused on her uninvited guest.

"What did you do to me?!" He demanded loudly, shaking with rage and humiliation. "What did you do?!"

She clenched her teeth against the anger coursing through her body, internally reminding herself that this man, however inept, however foolish, had just lost his only son, that he deserved mercy.

"I am no Bonnie Bennet, Dr Martin," She stated lowly, carefully. "I know how to use my magic. I know what it can do, and I know that your talent in channeling earth magic is nothing compared to the power that I possess." She saw his eyes darken with denial, with jealousy, and scoffed. "You're petty. I see that. For your son's sake, and the grief that is clouding your judgment right now, I will forgive you for attacking me, for forcing my hand." Rei crouched down, her face close to his. "But don't ever come here again. I mean it," She intoned seriously.

Relaxing her will, her magic immediately loosened it's grip on the warlock's channels, slowly withdrawing.

"You're a traitor," He glared at her hatefully, climbing to his feet. "Helping vampires. I shouldn't even have to ask for your help, you should have offered it!" His lip had curled inwards, bitterness dominating his expression.

"I'm no-one's slave, Dr Martin." Rei crossed the hallway to stand beside the still open door, extending an arm in a mocking gesture of departure. "Now, get out."

The warlock stalked past her, a gust of air hitting her face as he crossed the threshold. He paused only to shoot her a violently bitter stare before he climbed into his car and sped out of her drive.

She waited, face blank and absent any emotions, until the very last glow of his car headlights faded into the distance.

With a sharp intake of breath, Rei's body fell against the wooden door frame, her hand coming up to clutch at her chest as her eyes fell closed.

She'd pushed too hard.

She breathed deeply through her nose, trying desperately to calm the frantic racing of her heart. The organ was pounding harshly against her ribs, robbing her of breath, darkening her vision.

Forcibly ejecting the Wiccan magic from her body had been the limit, but she hadn't been satisfied. Rei knew that it was progress, three months ago she wouldn't have been able to do even that without feeling debilitating pain, but she hadn't been able to quell the urge to retaliate. To show him that he'd made a mistake when he chose to attack her. That he wouldn't win.

And she'd proved that. She'd ground her magic into his body, burrowing deeply, and he'd been helpless against her. He hadn't even known how to fight back.

But the humiliation he'd felt wasn't justified. Most of her own kind wouldn't have been prepared to deal with a speared, focused attack of raw core magic like that. It was unrefined. A show of pure power. Only the truly powerful attempted to attack the way she'd just done, because if you were weaker than your opponent you left yourself open to retaliation.

Rei sunk down to the floor, her legs unable to hold her any longer.

It hurt.

Sitting there, just breathing, she tried to push back her anger, her fury over the fact that she couldn't even muster the strength to reach out and shut the front door.

...But it was hard.

So hard.

She should be stronger than this, damn it!

Rei sunk her teeth deeply into her lower lip, hating the prickling sensation at the backs of her eyes as her vision swam warningly. Pushing her fists into her chest, she dragged in a long, shuddering breath and forced down the climbing pressure in her throat.

It was progress, her mind kept whispering. Progress.

Shaking her head violently, she reached behind her to fish the phone out of her back pocket, mentally rebuking herself for being weak as she brought it around, staring down at the black screen.

Almost against her will, her thoughts returned to that exact moment when her magic had responded to her direction. However much her body was hurting right now, there had been a moment there…one moment where her magic had reared up with the softest suggestion of its mistress; an echo from the past. She hadn't had to fight to get her magic to respond. It just had. The way it used to.

For that _one_ moment.

With a cough, she forced her mind to return to the present.

Scrawling through her contacts until she reached the number she'd been searching for, Rei brought the phone her ear; emerald orbs staring out at the star-filled sky from where she sat leaning up against the door frame.

_"Hey! You've reached Caroline…"_

…

She pulled away from Matt with a giant grin, unable to stop smiling at the good-looking busboy giddily.

"Listen, I'm going to go ask Hank if I can have the rest of the night off, alright?" Matt's own smile was almost splitting his face apart it was so wide.

Caroline nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds great."

He shook his head at her ruefully before leaning forwards to pull her into a deep, lingering kiss.

"I won't be long," He promised.

As soon as the bathroom door swung shut behind him Caroline let out a loud squeal of happiness and did a little dance, the excitement of the night giving her endless energy.

Feeling her phone buzz for what felt like the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, she rolled her eyes, but obligingly drew it out of her jacket.

_"Hey Care, it's me, Rei." _Caroline couldn't help rolling her eyes at that, it was as if the English girl didn't think she'd recognise her voice. _"I don't know what's going on, but Jonas Martin just turned up at my house demanding my help…Luka's dead. He kept saying that he refused to lose a second child, that everyone was going to learn what it feels like to lose everything. I chased him off but I think you'd better warn the others, he didn't look like he was in the negotiating, listen to reason, type of mood." _Sky blue eyes widened with growing horror as she listened to the utterly calm voice on the other line. _"Just, don't mention that he came to my house, alright?…Be careful, Caroline." _

"Oh God," She exhaled shakily, hearing the message cut off.

Blurring to the door, she barely remembered to slow down her speed to a human level as she tore out into the crowded Grill. Sky blue eyes darted anxiously around the dance floor, desperately trying to locate a familiar face.

She gasped with pure relief when she spotted a miserable looking Mr Saltzman. Pushing her way through the crowd, ignoring the rebuffs for her rude behaviour, she finally made it within earshot.

"Mr Saltzman!" Caroline waved frantically, attracting his attention immediately.

The look on her face must have told him that there was something desperately wrong because he instantly began moving through the crowd towards her.

"Caroli-"

"No time! Luka's dead. I don't know why or how, but Dr Martin, he's on a warpath!"

Alaric's eyes widened before he suddenly grasped her elbow and pulled her to the side. "What are you talking about? How do you know this?" He demanded quietly.

Caroline bit her lip, not knowing what to say. She couldn't tell him how she knew, they'd want to know why Dr Martin would even bother going over to Rei's house in the first place. Let alone what help a normal teenage girl could give him. Shit!

But before she could come up with a semi-believable explanation, Stefan and Elena appeared beside them.

"We have a problem," Elena stated, her brown eyes throwing searching glances at the crowd behind them as she spoke.

"Jonas Martin? Yeah, we know." Mr Saltzman informed the couple quickly, instinctively knowing that time was short.

Stefan frowned at him with confusion. "How do you know?" His face suddenly changed, becoming tense. "Is he already here?"

"No," Caroline jumped in, shaking her blonde curls violently. "At least…I don't think so," She finished weakly.

Stefan gave her a curious look before seeming to shake it off. Turning to the middle-aged history teacher he asked him to get Jenna home, that they had a plan.

"Is Luka really dead?" The words escaped her before she could think better of it and Caroline could have strangled herself in the next second.

An already moving Alaric suddenly stilled, spinning back around to hear the answer.

This time, Stefan fixed her with a heavy stare; his hazel eyes serious. "How did you know that, Caroline?" He demanded softly. "I raced over to the Martin's apartment as soon as we figured out that it was them trying to awaken Elijah but Jonas knocked me out. I only_ just_ told Damon."

Her mind went blank. What was she supposed to say?! Anxiety made her heart-beat quicken, the dead organ slamming painfully against her chest. Stefan's heavy stare had now been joined by Elena's wide-eyes; she just didn't know what to do!

Mr Saltzman interrupted the incredibly tense moment with a curse. "God!" He exclaimed, scrubbing his face with his hands, his sorrow evident to everyone. "Okay, we'll talk about this later," He suddenly ordered. "Now isn't the time. I'm going to get Jenna out of here." And then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd to find the Gilbert's guardian.

"He's right, Stefan," Elena pulled her boyfriend around by the arm. "If we want to even have time to give this plan a chance…" She trailed off.

Caroline hugged her middle defensively, not liking the penetrating glance the younger Salvatore brother shot her before he nodded at his girlfriend in agreement.

"We're going to need your help," Elena told her.

…

Bonnie screamed as Jonas Martin suddenly shot up from the floor, grasping her head in both of his hands.

A rush of images forced their way into her mind, pushing past her flimsy defences ruthlessly.

_"If we find the site of the witches massacre and you're able to harness their power, will it be enough to kill Klaus?" Elijah asked seriously, his eyes calculating._

_"Yes," He nodded solemnly. "Over one hundred witches were killed there; it's enough."_

_..._

_Sprawled out awkwardly on the footpath, as if she'd just fallen, was a beautiful, dark-haired young woman cursing colourfully under her breath._

_He extended a hand. _

_Emerald orbs blinked confusedly at the limb before looking up. _

_"Thanks," She muttered sourly, raising her hand. _

_"Sorry about that," He apologised with a soft laugh, pulling her to her feet._

_Behind glasses, brown eyes suddenly narrowed on the girl dusting herself off. _

_"I'm Dr Jonas Martin," He introduced. "Will you accept my apologies, Miss…?"_

_"Rei Potter," A charming smile overtook her face. "And it's no problem. I'm not usually a clumsy person so hopefully we don't meet like this again."_

_He smiled a close-lipped smile and her eyes seemed to sharpen, gazing up at him more intently. _

_"I don't think I've seen you around town?" Rei asked expectantly. _

_"No, my son and I just moved here."_

_She nodded slowly, her right eyebrow quirked slightly. "Well, it was nice to meet you but I want to finish my run, so…" Rei trailed off._

_Jonas stepped aside, raising an inviting arm out to the path in front of her. "Don't let me keep you."_

_With one last lingering look, she nodded curtly before taking off. _

_He watched her closely until she turned a corner and disappeared from his sight._

_..._

_"What are you looking for, Dad?" Luka asked curiously._

_He looked over his shoulder at this son. "Nothing important. Go, you don't want to be late for your first day at school."_

_As soon as the younger warlock had left Jonas turned back towards the countless grimoires on his bookshelf. His finger pulling out one of the smaller, even more battered copies._

_"…The wand-wielders are real and they're dangerous. You will know them from the reaction of your powers. It is the way our kind recognises the them, the other users of magic. It is both a warning and a message that they are brethren. But beware; no such instinctive trust and belonging as we feel in their presence, do they feel in ours." He read carefully, running his finger under the words as he spoke._

_..._

_"Are you aware of the stories about wand-wielders?"_

_Elijah bent down to examine the multiple computers, his fingers soon flying across the keyboard as he wiped its memory. "I have been alive for over one thousand years, there is not much that I have not at least heard of." _

_Jonas' eyes widened with surprise. "Really? I only know of them because of the sheer amount of grimoires I have managed to collect over the years. Only a few of them mention their possible existence and even then they're vague."_

_The Original nodded, clearly only half listening, his mind more focused on his task. "It is to be expected. Witches and Warlocks often wish more to believe they are the only creatures with the ability to manipulate magic than face the truth. The few that have discovered differently have either been dealt with by those same magic users they would continue to deny, or they have so little useful information as to make future generations wary of believing their vague warnings."_

_"So it is true?" He pressed. "They do exist?" _

_"Is there a point to this conversation, Jonas?" Elijah sighed, irritated. _

_"One of my grimoires gave a small example of how these wand wielders felt to us. They explained that this was our way of differentiating them from the crowd." He explained slowly, disbelief and wary confusion colouring his tone._

_The Original clicked the final few keys on the computer._

_"That girl…she's one of them." Jonas finally admitted. _

_Elijah turned around slowly, a small frown pulling down his brows. "That is surprising. They don't normally settle in America, and never this far south…What was her name?"_

_He hesitated, "…Does it matter?"_

_The Original gave a humourless smile, impatience clear in his eyes. "Perhaps." Was all he said._

_"Rei Potter," He exhaled with defeat, his shoulders slumping._

_Elijah's calm facade suddenly morphed into a genuinely stunned expression. "Rei Potter?" He sought to clarify._

_Frowning with confusion at the name recognition, Jonas still nodded in confirmation. "Yes." _

_The vampire abruptly turned away to look out the window, an unnerving expression on his face._

_"Interesting."_

_..._

_"Have you found the site?" He asked._

_Elijah folded his arms, surveying the traffic below from the apartment window. "No, not yet."_

_"Time is running out, Elijah," Jonas warned lowly._

_"I'm well aware that Niklaus grows closer to finding the doppelgänger every day. I assure you, the fact is never far from my mind."_

_"Bonnie doesn't know where the moonstone is," He sighed heavily. _

_"I would have been surprised if she had considering where it has been all this time." The Original turned, absent-mindedly straightening the cuffs on his suit jacket. _

_Jonas frowned, his eyes becoming hopeful even as he shifted in his seat. "You know where the moonstone is?" He asked guardedly. _

_"I do," Elijah nodded once. _

_"Where was it?" _

_"Unimportant," The vampire waved a dismissive hand. "All that matters is that I shall have it in my possession by mid-tomorrow morning. Then all that is left to us is finding the site of the witch's massacre and we shall finally have everything that we need to kill Klaus."_

Bonnie gasped in a long, sharp breath, reality returning to her slowly. She felt as if hours rather than seconds had passed inside her mind.

"Bonnie! Bonnie!" Someone was shaking her shoulder. "Are you okay?" Stefan's worried face peered down at her, a satisfied Katherine surveying her from behind him.

Dear god. Her mind finally caught up with itself, making sense of the things that she had seen, the information that she had been told. Oh my god…Rei! She was a-a!

"Bonnie!" Stefan shouted with concern when she didn't reply.

She'd never be able to say what held her tongue at that moment, what stopped her from blurting out the shocking truth to everyone.

Bonnie swallowed dryly but nodded at Elena's boyfriend hollowly, her mind spinning.

"I'm fine," She whispered hoarsely, looking down at the corpse of Dr Martin. "I'm fine."

…

_Ahhh! (GRIN) Bonnie knows!...Now, what will this mean? *wink*_


	20. That's Your Job

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries

…

Bonnie escaped the Gilbert house as soon as she could. Her mind unable to stop turning over the information that Jonas had given her in his last moments of life.

There was a way to kill Klaus. They actually had a way.

The power of a hundred dead witches, even the thought of that much magic waiting to be harnessed at the site of their massacre was daunting. She'd known that Klaus was strong. The stories and fear that his name conjured in others made that fact all too clear. But the power of one hundred dead witches? Somehow, she'd thought that that would have been more than enough to bring down anything. But if Jonas' memories were to be believed, it would be _barely _enough power to kill him.

It was big news. She should have been racing to tell Elena, everyone, but the only thing that was racing through her mind was Rei.

A wand-weilder. She'd never even heard about them. There was another species of magic-users? Her kind wasn't the only one?!

Slamming on the breaks, Bonnie reached over to unlock her seat-beat, pushing the car door open at the same time. She was out of the vehicle and running across the white pebbled courtyard a second later.

"Rei!" She couldn't even wait until she reached the front door to call out, taking the patio stone steps two at a time. "Rei!" She screamed loudly, skidding to a stop at the door she used her fist to pound unceasingly against the wood. "Rei!"

The door suddenly swung inward revealing a sleepy looking English girl wearing shorts and a baggy t-shirt, blinking out at her.

"Bonnie?" Rei croaked, squinting. "Do you have any idea what time it-" Without waiting for her to finish, Bonnie pushed past the arm she was using to hold the door open and stormed inside.

She spun around, her eyes wild. "You! You have magic, don't you?!" Bonnie growled lowly.

Like a switch had suddenly been flipped, all traces of tiredness were wiped from the young woman's elfin features. Emerald eyes sharpened, a calculating gleam sparking to life within the abruptly alert orbs.

"Well," The lightly accented voice was crisp, calm. "This is unexpected."

Bonnie felt her jaw drop. "That's it?" She breathed. "You're not going to deny it, demand to know how I know? Nothing?!"

Rei tilted her neck slightly, her eyes narrowing.

Without warning, the black-haired girl lifted a socked foot off the ground and kicked backwards, shutting the door with a loud slam.

"Fine." She stated strongly, taking a step towards her. "All I really want to know is, did you tell anyone?"

Bonnie couldn't help it, she laughed. Raising her hands to her face, she buried her head in her palms, trying desperately to make sense of a situation that didn't even feel real at this point.

She heard Rei sigh heavily before a soft hand touched her elbow, dragging her down the corridor.

"I'm thinking tea sounds really good at this point," The English girl exhaled.

...

Elena dropped her arm uselessly to her side as Bonnie, ignoring her invitations to stay the night, slammed the front-door behind her as she left.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around to see Stefan and Katherine trudging down the stairs. Her ancestor licking the last drop of blood from the corner of her lips with a smug smirk.

"Everything taken care of?" Damon asked his brother from beside her.

Her boyfriend nodded, his face solemn.

"I'm guessing you're going to want this back," Katherine pulled the vervain necklace from her neck and held it out to her. "Though your cute little outfit's going to need a good dry-clean." She smirked cheekily.

Gritted her teeth against the anger rising up in her, Elena strode forward, ripping the necklace out of her grasp.

Deliberately ignoring the vampire, she spoke directly to Stefan. "You'll need to get her out of here before Jenna comes home." He nodded.

"That's all you have to say to me?" Katherine snapped hotly.

"What you did? Helping us? Pretending to be me?" Elena locked eyes with her reflection. "It doesn't change the way I feel about you."

A slow, pleased smirk stretched across the vampire's lips. "I don't much like you either, Elena. If we're being open. And frankly, I'd be happy to see you dead. But, if we're going to try and take on Klaus, kind of need you to be alive. So, I'm not a threat to you, Elena. If any of you are going to believe anything, believe that."

…

"I can't believe this," Bonnie shook her head, hazel-green eyes looking at her from across the kitchen counter with the last remnants of shock. "My Grams, she never even mentioned that there was another type of witch."

Rei nodded. "Well, that's probably because she didn't know about us."

"How is it possible though? You say that there is a whole civilisation of wand-weilders out there, how can you stay hidden?" Bonnie pressed, hungry curiousity burning in her eyes.

They'd been at this for hours now. The Wiccan witch had been anything but calm after the initial shock had passed. She'd been furious. Furious at the secrets, the lies, the deception. Rei had had to work very hard not to roll her eyes as the girl paced her kitchen, rage practically coming out of the top of her head.

When she'd told Bonnie that she didn't have anything to apologise for, that it was her business and no-one else's, well, that hadn't exactly gone over well. The witch had fixed her with such a dark look she wouldn't have been surprised if she'd tried attacking her.

For every angry exclamation and suspicion Bonnie threw at her though, Rei had parried with calm, rational explanations.

_"But why didn't you tell me?!" By this point, Bonnie was almost pleading, pulling at the roots of her hair with incredible frustration. "I would have understood!"_

_Rei took a long sip from her fourth cup of tea, savouring the sweet flavour that the sugar brought to the black beverage. _

_"It was none of your concern, Bonnie," She stated simply, shrugging._

_Hazel-green eyes narrowed with anger. "You're my friend, you should have told me!"_

_Emerald orbs flicked up to pierce the Wiccan with a strong stare. "Just because you're my friend does not entitle you to know about every facet of my life. Six months to a year down the line, I might have considered the possibility of telling you. But right now?" She scoffed. "Bonnie, come on, don't be naïve."_

_"It's not about being immature or naïve, Rei! It's about the fact that you lied by omission!" Bonnie's eyes were heavy with judgement and she felt her temper flare._

_"Is your world really so black and white?" She asked the Wiccan standing in her kitchen softly. "Do you really look at the world the way you appear to? The way you're speaking…it's not realistic. The fact that I have magic was my business to tell if and when I chose to. If you're hurt that I didn't confide in you, fine, that I can accept. If that's the case, I'm sorry, but I had other responsibilities that came before your feelings."_

_Bonnie's face fell and Rei knew that she'd hit the nail on the head. _

"It's a long story, Bonnie," She sighed tiredly, rubbing at her forehead.

"Fine," The Wiccan grumbled resignedly. "But Elena and the others aren't going to be happy when they find out that I've kept this from them." She bit her lip anxiously at the thought.

Rei shrugged. "If they find out, they find out. But I'm not going to go around advertising my magic, Bonnie. Anyway, you'll have Caroline at least," She reasoned.

Hazel-green eyes snapped up with surprise. "Care knows about you?!"

Rei nodded, smirking at the stunned look on the witch's face. "Mhmm, has since the night we were both kidnapped by the wolves."

Bonnie blinked at her for a long moment before throwing her arms in the air. "Unbelievable," She muttered under her breath before her body suddenly froze. With hesitant eyes she voiced her next question softly. "Is this why you were so mad about Elijah? About what Elena did to him?"

Rei's eyes darkened slightly at the reminder and she glanced down into her half-full cup of tea. "Yes,…and no," She murmured, running her index finger around the porcelain rim.

"You said that magic was about balance, that it recognised the importance of promises-"

"_Your _magic is about balance," Rei corrected her sharply. "Not mine."

Bonnie blinked, sitting back down on the stool with confusion. "What are you talking about? We keep the balance of nature, that's our job," She stated strongly.

"That's _your_ job," Rei pointed at her. "My kind, we harbour our magic inside of us. It's ours. We don't channel the magic of nature. The only rules that apply to us are the ones that our society sets down. The only thing we're limited by is our own talent, skill, power and morals. Like any person on the street, we're capable of murder and we can try to kill someone. Morals can stop a person from carrying that out, the victim might be more skilled and stop them, or they can actually go through with it and the only way they'll pay for what they did is if they're caught by the authorities."

If there was one thing she pitied Wiccans for, it was just how much power the dead spirits of their kind had over them. The mere thought of something intangible looking over her shoulder, arbitrarily judging what she was doing and exacting their punishment on her…even the notion of something determined to control her like that set her teeth on edge.

"The spirits?" Bonnie whispered softly, reverently, as if they might hear her if she spoke too loud. "They don't-you don't answer to them?" There was such profound disbelief in her voice that Rei couldn't help but shift on her feet, feeling decidedly uncomfortable.

"No." She answered shortly, not liking the cautious light that had entered Bonnie's eyes. As if she was suddenly questioning whether she should trust her without the reassurance that her decisions were being monitored by the moral compass of dead Wiccan witches. "The spirits can protest all they want, but they don't have-for lack of a better word, jurisdiction, over me." A dark chuckle left her lips, eyes hardening in rebellion at the mere thought.

Bonnie swallowed thickly and looked away, her eyes conflicted. "…Then why were you so upset about Elijah?" She murmured lowly, an edge to her voice. "Stefan told me that you went over to the Boarding House. If you had revived him he would have killed everyone, Rei!"

She spun around, her hands reaching out to grip the edges of the porcelain sink tightly as she stared at the painted tiles in front of her.

"I don't want to talk about this, Bonnie," She warned lowly.

"No! No, that's not going to cut it this time," Bonnie growled, refusing to back-down. "You have so many things that you don't want to talk about, Rei! More than anyone that I've ever met! But this is about everyone's safety; Elena's life!"

Rei glared at the tiles, controlling her temper. "I won't revive Elijah, Bonnie," She assured her solemnly.

"I already knew that," The witch confessed softly, surprising her. Rei turned back around and Bonnie gave her a pleading look. "You're mad at us. I can tell. And I heard what you said the other night, I did, but that's not all you're angry about, Rei! I just want to know."

She exhaled harshly, crossing her arms. "No, you don't." When Bonnie looked like she was going to protest she raised her voice, cutting her off. "You don't want to know what I'm thinking, Bonnie. And I have even less inclination to tell you."

"…Last night in the car, you didn't want to say anything then, either. I know that Care and I basically forced it out of you, and despite what you might think, I do know you enough to know that you've been angry with yourself ever since. You seem to have this…determination not to appear to be poking your nose into other people's business." There was a question in her words and Rei smiled without humour.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," She spoke the proverb with a chuckle. "There are a lot of people who think they have the right to comment on my life. To question what and why I choose to do something. I was never able to tolerate it very well."

Bonnie nodded with a little more understanding, "And you don't want to be a hypocrite."

She shot the Wiccan a sharp glance that told her all she needed to know.

"I was mad about what you said in the car last night," Bonnie admitted softly. "But you were right. My Grams taught me enough about magic to know that oaths and promises aren't something to be taken lightly. Only problem is…it's Elena." She whispered hoarsely.

Rei closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to push down the exhaustion that was making her entire body feel like lead.

"I want to know, Rei," Bonnie stated stubbornly, sincerely, her body tensing in preparation for whatever she might hear. And it was that action, that preparedness, that finally made her fold.

…

Isobel stared up at the familiar Gilbert house from her position on the normal, everyday, suburban side-walk, her face utterly blank. It was dark, late. Not one car had driven down the residential street in the time it had taken her to slowly appraise the structure for any changes. Everyone safety asleep in their beds.

Her first duty, first order upon arrival in Mystic Falls, was to ascertain the health and safety of the Petrova doppelgänger.

Then, and only then, would her other commands come into effect.

Without internal direction her body suddenly took a step forward, some unseen force judging that she'd surveyed her surroundings long enough. With the soft clacking of heels connecting with the pavement beneath her feet echoing loudly in her ears, Isobel didn't bother to fight against the compulsion controlling her every action. It wouldn't do her any good.

Isobel knew that truth intimately.

She pressed the doorbell and shifted back on the wooden porch, sliding her hands into the pockets of her coat she waited patiently for an answer. There was no nervousness, no impatience, no happiness at the prospect of seeing her daughter. There was nothing except the command foremost in her mind.

Ascertain the health and safety of the Petrova doppelgänger.

Nothing else mattered.

The door suddenly swung inward revealing the stunned face of her only daughter. A face which swiftly transformed into one of horror-stricken dread as she registered exactly who was on her door step.

Isobel smiled.

"...Hello, Elena."

…

Shaking her head, Rei pushed off from the sink and plopped gracefully onto the stool beside Bonnie.

"…I don't want Elena to die, Bonnie," She murmured quietly, stretching her fingers to relieve the tension in her shoulders. "And, you should want to fight. If I were in your position, I would fight, nothing could stop me. But Bonnie-!" Her lips pressed together with mute agitation, trying to somehow find a way to verbalise the confusing mess of emotions bundled up inside of her. "…You haven't got a plan outside of the one that Elijah engineered. You're not prepared for this, none of you."

They had one plan. One plan. It wasn't going to be enough, it never was. It would be different if any of them could actually fight Klaus, not even to win, but at least hold him up. But they couldn't. He was _so _much more powerful than them. So much more powerful.

Rei tucked a black curl behind her ear, gathering her thoughts. "I understand why you need to save her. Nothing about this is fair and Elena shouldn't have to die simply because she looks the way she does…But I've known for a long time that life is far from fair," She murmured so softly that Bonnie was barely able to hear her.

Rei knew the exact moment that the girl beside her understood. The Wiccan witch pulled away, the weight of her horrified eyes only increasing the guilt churning in her stomach.

The only reason they'd managed to incapacitate Elijah was because it would have been suicide for them to actually make an attempt on his life. The mere concept was so stupid, so foolhardy, Rei wasn't surprised that the vastly experienced vampire had been taken by surprise. But they didn't get that, did they?! They couldn't even comprehend just how _lucky _they'd been.

"Rei-"

"This man is smart, Bonnie. Do you really think he isn't aware of every single method that exists to kill him?" Merlin, she didn't want to be saying this! But she couldn't help it! Every time she turned around it was like a giant mistake was staring her in the face and they simply refused to see it! "He won't just kill you and those in your small circle if you fail in even one aspect of your plan. He'll go after those you care about." Rei looked down her hands, twisting them tightly, hating herself for the conclusion that her war-hardened mind had already come to.

"Rei, are you-?" Bonnie breathed, shaken to her core. "Are you telling me that you think Elena should die? That we should let her die?!"

With a violent curse she flew out of her chair and spun around to fix Bonnie with a powerful glare.

"I don't want Elena to die! I _never_ said that! But you are not prepared for this! I want to look at the situation, and say, yes, you do have a chance. But you can't just hope for the best!" Her voice was intense, a cornucopia of emotions. "You need to plan for the worst. Only problem is, you're at the worst! He's more powerful than you, Bonnie. So much more powerful than any of you! That's why Katherine's spent centuries running from him, and Klaus killed her entire family because of that. If Elena doesn't want to be a vampire, she needs to run, and everyone that means anything to her has to run. But," She threw up her hands with frustration. "You can't do that, because most of the people you love don't even know how much danger they're in!"

"It won't come to that!" Bonnie yelled. "We can kill him. The spell, the witches power, I can channel them!"

Rei slid down the wall opposite the counter until her knees were pressed up against her chest. "I told you that you didn't want to hear what I was thinking," She scoffed, mentally scolding herself for saying anything in the first place.

They wouldn't want to hear, they wouldn't be interested. All they were concerned about was keeping Elena safe. They weren't looking at the causalities if they failed. They weren't seeing that in daggering Elijah they'd already added two more deaths to a situation that in the past only had one.

She bowed her head, hunching her shoulders. The familiar self-loathing that she'd become all too accustomed to, seeping back into her as the conversation re-played itself in her head.

People never wanted to face reality. They weren't looking for the truth. They didn't want to know the person that would die if they saved the one they loved. Never. And they wouldn't thank her for forcibly opening their eyes to reality. Not when ignorance really was the epitome of bliss.

"We'll find a way," Bonnie spoke softly, reassuringly, almost as if she was trying to convince herself of the fact. "We have time. H-he doesn't even know where she is."

Rei lifted her head from her knees then, staring at the young girl opposite her with so much pity in that moment it was incredible. She was so certain, so idealistic; but there were no heroes in death. You had one life, only one life. The day that she had finally accepted that you couldn't save everyone had almost broken her. But she had accepted it.

"Yeah," Rei croaked from her crouched position on the floor. "Let's hope you're right."

…

_Ah! One more chapter to go until Klaus! _


End file.
